“True friendship requires intentionality and consistency.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 13, 2022
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NRSV
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “we pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.” Of all the gifts we take for granted, friendship and community are often at the top of the list. In fact, it isn’t until we find ourselves without meaningful friendships or relationships that we realize just how vital they are to our health and spiritual growth!
Have you noticed that in our increasingly “connected” world of social media and technology, we somehow seem to be more and more disconnected? We read the passing updates posted by online friends, but neglect the deeper and more meaningful work of true friendship. We may have countless social acquaintances, but do we allow people into the deepest parts of our being, inviting them to know our hopes and fears, our dreams and desires?
Today, I encourage you to take up the lost art of friendship. It isn’t hard, but true friendship requires intentionality and consistency. Plan in advance several simple yet meaningful ways to deepen old friendships or foster new ones. When was the last time you hand wrote a letter to a friend to tell them how much you appreciate them? When was the last time you used your phone to not only text or check email but to call someone and ask how they are doing or if you can pray for them? What about recreational time, carving out an evening or weekend afternoon to share life with people you love?
When Jesus invited us to pray to God as “Father,” he was inviting us out of autonomy and isolation and into community and family. Just as God is a community of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so too are we invited to share life together, horizontally with one another, and vertically with God who is communal, relational, and an intimate Father. May we give thanks that God loves us and will never leave us, and celebrate this wonderful yet seemingly ordinary gift called friendship.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the gift of friendship and community. Through these relationships may we be reminded of your great love for us and that we are never left alone.
Application
Celebrate the gift of friendship today by reaching out to a friend or two and express your affection and appreciation for them.
Related Reading
Job 16:20-21; Proverbs 17:17, 27:17; John 15:12-15
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship & Delirious?: What a Friend I’ve Found
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