I’ve been thinking about friendships a lot lately. We all got ‘em. There are so many different types of friendships, levels of friendships.
There’s the fast friend — the person you meet once and there’s an instant connection. There’s the Facebook friend – someone who tells you all their business, but you don’t really know them or care that they’re headed to the grocery store. The frequent friend – the one you see every day that knows most about your life. The favorite friend – your go-to friend. The forever friend – the one you’ve known forever and no matter the miles you know that person is a friend. The flighty friend – the one who only calls when there’s a problem. The finkish friend – the one who texts you and when you respond they never text back. The fun friend – the one you laugh with. The fanatic friend – the one you hide from sometimes because of their stalking tendencies. The forgiving friend – the one that forgives you more than you deserve. The faithful friend – the one who sticks by you, no matter what. The fan friend – the one who cheers loudest for you. The fellowship friend – just being together, no words necessary because you already know what the other will say. The finder friend – the one who tracks you down after years. The family friend – the sister who shares your heart. There are so many more kinds of friends, but you get the picture. Take a minute to think of your friends.
There’s my basement skating friend. Yep. We roller skated as kids in my parents’ basement. Neither of us was very good, but it didn’t matter. We were together.
There’s my always an adventure friend. The one who ran for a broom (not to ride) when the mouse jumped out of the tack box right at my face!
There’s the national tragedy friend. The one who is the answer to the “where were you when” question, with an inexplicable bond that can never be erased.
There’s my for keeps, no matter what, complete your sentences friend.
There’s the sister friend. The one who shares my parents, my life. Boundless love.
The daughter friend. The holder of my heart.
As I thought about my friends, I also thought of the kind of friend I am. Honestly, I’m all the above, and more. I have been a fast friend, a frequent friend, a favorite friend, a forever friend, a flightly friend, a finishisk friend, a fanatic friend, a faithful friend, a fan friend and a finder friend. I’ve been a good friend and a really bad friend. I tell folks I’m not a very good friend, and it’s true. I don’t know about you all, but I struggle sometimes stepping out of my own world – I’ve been told it’s not all about me (tsk! tsk!) – and stepping into someone else’s world. That’s what friends do.
Friendships are hard because we(me) are…well, complicated. I don’t know that God made us complicated, maybe complex, but I think sin makes us complicated. Here’s what I mean. The reason I’m sometimes not a good friend isn’t because of my friend, it’s because of me. See it is all about me! I’m selfish. Ugh! You too? I think most (all?) of our problems in life (don’t throw stuff at me) arrive when we only think of ourselves. What we want. What we say. What we want to do. Friends are an assault on ourselves. Good friends, not Facebook friends (again, don’t throw stuff at me) make us get beyond ourselves. They require something of us.
There is another kind of friend that can heal and encourage all our friendships, who can help us get beyond ourselves to eternity – the Father Friend.
For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. Romans 5:10-11
Christ’ death on the cross has made us friends of God. Blood brothers. Soul mates. It is only by His special favor that we have been saved.
…A new life has begun! All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. 2 Corinthians 5:18
As followers of Christ, our task is to tell our friends of Him. Who do we need to talk to?