“F.R.I.E.N.D.S ” is a popular American sitcom about six close knitted friends who went through just about every life experience imaginable together; love, marriage, children, heartbreaks, fights, new jobs, job losses and all sorts of dramas. How nice it is to have a group of friends like this too! This led me to ponder upon the significance of my own friends - from school friends, tuition friends, work friends, and so forth and notably “church friends”. We all know the importance of this group of friends as the Bible has always highlighted the importance of them in our Christian race but are we really investing in deepening such friendship or are they just the “wednesday” and “sunday” friends?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.", the apostle Paul emphasises the importance of mutual encouragement and building up of each other within the Christian community. This shows that God requires us to have friends and support one another. Church friends provide more than just companionship; they offer a source of encouragement, understanding, and prayer. In times of joy, they celebrate with genuine enthusiasm and in moments of challenges, their comforting presence becomes a testament to the strength found in unity -- Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loveth at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”.
Knowing the importance of church friends, do we truly have deep connections with them? Sometimes it's just the weekly hi, bye and the on-the-surface conversations like “How are you?” and we would call them our church friends. It is not wrong but frankly, in times of trouble, will you turn to them for help or will you share with them your problems? Having grown up with my church friends since young, I am guilty of the “wednesday” and “sunday” friends but in these few years of growing up and transition of life, with more efforts on developing deeper friendships while encouraging each other in faith, I am blessed to say that I have church friends who are not just the “wednesday” and “sunday” friends. One particular event that made me reflect and really think about what God meant by how friends can encourage and build each other up was when I recently had a competition. A simple text showing their care and making time to come to show their support really encouraged me and taught me no matter how little or small, the things sometimes we do to help other Christians can have a great impact on their lives, and help their faith in ways we can't imagine.
Friendships can be forged across all ages and places and not just between those of similar age. One example is Ruth becoming friends with her mother-in-law, Naomi, looking out for one another throughout their lives - Ruth 1:16-17 "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”. Their story also exemplifies how love in many different forms is an important and powerful force in building and sustaining meaningful friendships. There are no restrictions to who our friends are; so even our mums can be our friends too!
To end off, just like the theme song of this show, “I’ll be there for you”, it serves as a good reminder for us that we are never alone and God gave us friends who will be there for us. While we have friends, we ourselves are friends to others too. So, make sure that we look out for them and also are a source of encouragement. Life isn't a solo queue, God has blessed us with friends to enrich the journey of our Christian lives together, to make it fun, enjoyable and meaningful.
Questions:
What are some characteristics of “church friends”?
What does Ruth 1:16-17 tell us about the importance of friendship and God?
Is there a time when your church friend had impacted your life in any way or helped you in your faith? Have you done the same for anyone else too?
Answers:
Comforts and edifies one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). They are encouraging and understanding, pray for one another and celebrate with genuine enthusiasm (Proverbs 17:17)
Ruth and Naomi both have a shared love for God. Therefore, true friendship will bring us and our friends closer to God (“thy God my God”) as we help each other overcome challenges together.
You may discuss this with the writer or your Bible class teacher.