"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 New King James Version
I have been blessed with so many amazing, godly friends. I am in no way an expert on frienship, and I have much to learn about loving others, but despite that I am going to touch on several aspects of friendship starting with choosing friends wisely.
I have been blessed with so many wise, god fearing friends who are constantly leading me back to the cross. Proverbs 22:24-25 says:
"Make no friendship with a man given to anger,nor go with a wrathful man,or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself."
Friends have such a strong influence in our lives. Hanging out with the wrong people can be very harmful to you, and it can change you. There was a time in my life where I was hanging out with the wrong kind of people and my heart grew bitter and hateful because of the influence I was getting from those 'friends'. This verse is very true in the way that it says you will learn their ways, its almost a monkey see monkey do type reaction. But if you are friends with the wise, you will become wise, and you can help eachother grow. I have been blessed with such amazing wise friends who are constantly helping me grow, I am able to speak with them openly about areas of sin in my life that I am struggling with and they are always there to pray for me and give me verses and advice. Praise the Lord! My friends have saved me from believing satans lies over and over again and I could not be more grateful.
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Prov 17:17
Friends are loving. Always. A person who is bitter and unfaithful to a friend, is not a true friend at all. My friends are constantly showing this to me. There have been several times where I have been unkind or lashed out on my friends, but they have loved me just the same. When I'm upset they comfort me, and when I rejoice they rejoice. Thomas Jefferson once said, "When it hurts too much to look back, and you are too afraid to look ahead; look beside you and a friend will be there." That is love, and again I must say that love in friendship is such an amazing thing.
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. " John 15:12-15
This verse says it all, love one another God loves us. God's love is unconditional, it is not changed by anything we might say or do, and that is the way friendship should be.
I am so grateful for the love that is portrayed by all my friends. There have been so many long talks, confrontations, tears and joyful memories...And I know have already said this so many times before but thank you all for your amazing example of God's love. :) "If you live to be one hundred, I want to live to be one hundred minus one day so that I'd never have to live without you." :)
In His Grace,
Kylie
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9 comments:
Back at you! Thanks for being a wise friend, Kylie! And thanks for posting.
Awe, that's so nice, Kylie! You are such an amazing friend, too! I am so very glad God gave you to me as a friend, for you have been so godly, fun, loving, and have introduced me to so many other amazing people. =) Thanks for doing that post! 8D 8D
This post is amazing! You are so totally right. our friends do have such an influence over our lives.
A post that can't be beat and Bible truth to back it up. :D
great post as usual Kylie. one thing that has always bothered me though is that if you make friends with those who will help you grow closer to the Lord as the Bible indicates you should how will you ever evangelize by making friends with the lost and if everyone is only trying to be friends with those that will help them grow wont the more Godly be avoiding friendship with the less so as to avoid the snares that others present?
Oh and I was just thinking about how cool it would be to run mini commentaries on the two book suggested for the youth retreat
Haha. That'd be fun; you up for posting? :-P
As far as secular friends, I think it's, as John Newton said (the character from Amazing Grace, not sure about the real person,) "Just make sure you're in the world, not of the world." It's sort of a tricky situation. We're called to reach out to them, to befriend them, but not to be molded by them. HTH.
Solo de gloria.
I'd be happy to try posting it would work well if a group of people rotated by chapter. I'll re-read chapter one of The Joy of Fearing God and try to get a post ready soon.
and I understand that we should try not to let them affect us but simply by interacting with others we change and are affected.
Yes, rotation would be good. I'm probably going to be reading the other book, so... we could bounce back and forth and confuse the bejeebers out of people.
Yeah, there is an iron-sharpens-iron thing that goes on with interaction. It'd say it's probably being wary of mingling fun with foolishness, etc.
ok every one i'v made a blog that you all wil love, if you havn't goten the invite than email me and ill let you in.
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