So you say you are a real GOOD TRUE FRIEND...... “all that and more”
Imagine what it would be like if anbody who wanted to learn to drive was free to simply take a car on the road, mess around with the controls & learn to drive by trial and error (without a learners licence) Friends, car accidents are a great danger to life & limb, be warned. So? To prevent them as far as possible, aspiring drivers are taught to become motorists, they pass a test before they are let loose on the road... this made me think: the wreckages of broken friendships can be just as devastating to our well-being as those crashed cars in an accident.
We need friends, REAL TRUE CLOSE FRIENDS “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 14:35 (my hubby recently said to me how shocking how easy so called friends call you “my brother”but , “my brother”lasts only in the good times...seasonal friends) when i stepped into His elect chosen call full time, i was warned “this ministry is a lonely road (most REAL TRUTH ministries are iv e come to know first hand friends are far and few: off course everybody wants to know you...many of which with hidden agendas only exposed in “accident” scenes... today many years later, i do know that i have few to confide in, despite many who confide in me! My personal Life experience is bottom line we all need REAL CLOSE TRUE FRIENDS.... i have a lot of “know about” friends, however REAL TRUE CLOSE FRIENDS I KNOW AND WHO KNOW ME, far and few can count them on my one hand...
Some quote the idiom: “familiarity breeds contempt” & give this as reason for not having friends & trusting others. I quote the words of Dale Carnegic who once said :”you can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people, than you can in two years be trying to get others interested in you...
I ve done my homework on this topic & life experience. I ve found that the Bible has much to say & teach about friendship, REAL TRUE CLOSE FRIENDSHIP too... could not help but think we all desire this kind of friend... “a friend loves at all times...”(the good the bad the ugly the high the low the valley the desert the mountain top...think about it honestly how many such friends do you have ACTIVE IN YOUR HEART CIRCLE AND LIFE CIRCLE....few) A word that has recently so blessed me was “Wounds of a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27:6) and then off course, Jesus who said to His disciples (few INTIMITATE REAL CLOSE FRIENDS) “you are My friends”...
What was the success rate of the growth of the early church? CHRISTIANS REAL CHRISTIANS STAYED TOGETHER IN FELLOWSHIP (Acts 1:14; 2:1; 4:32) Reading this with some other Word made me outline 3 things we need to practice if we are to develop friendships:
1. TOLERATE ONE ANOTHER: we all have differences we all are different.we all have different temperaments hence the tendancy to irritate one another... if we cant even tolerate each other as CHRISTIANS how can we win the world...yes LAUGH OUT LOUD! (lol)
2. PLEASE EACH OTHER: Amplified, love it:”Let each one of us make it a PRACTISE to please his neighbour for HIS GOOD (not our own good gain) and for his true welfare (not ours) to edify him (not us) so simple: how do i please my friends? I build them up spiritually and encourage them with the Word.
3. WE NEED TO ACCEPT EACH OTHER: again the Amplifies says beautiful “welcome and receive one another” (not reject and receive some....)(see also Phil 2:3-5) accept each other despite weaknesses and faults SO WE CAN REFINE EACH OTHER (however most friends leave walk away or cut cut cut when this take place...never easy to look in one s own mirror, more so when a friend holds the mirror for you to look in...)
Now you might wonder like me, but what does the profile look like of a good friend well i found that in Bible too: (Romans 16/2 tim1/Acts 4/9/15/11): what i highlighted jotted down was simply these keywords
· A good friend is GENEROUS (what you do does not make you good rather who you are – live to give not to get!)
· A good friend is always forgiving (no Barnabus no Paul...accept forgive)
· A good friend is a bridge builder
· A good friend is an encourager. ( be a “failure fixer” i choose to name my nick name.. why? When people see rejection i see potential for when Jesus was rejected God saw potential when i was rejected Jesus saw potential when others are rejected i see potential why cause i do what Jesus did live like Him a reflection of His Image day by day step by step.)
I wondered in prayer “Lord what will... a REAL TRUE FRIEND...” again word search brought me to 1 Chronincles 17:25-33 and also 2 sam 15/16/17... i have a few TRUSTED FRIENDS as said only count them on my one hand i call them “Hushai friends” just like only Hushai was referred to as “the kings friends”I am thankful to share i have such a friend...once again i made my notes and realize 4 things stood out of what real true friends will ....
1. Real true friend WILL SERVE YOU( again Hushai was the one who went “undercover”for David. A real true good friend WILL WORK WITH YOU to fulfil God s purporse for YOUR LIFE (not thei r own life, they lay down your life for your friends...like Jesus did)(also see Eccl 4:9)
2. Real true friend WILL RISK FOR YOU –even in danger Hushai was prepared to work with David (friends so easy run when there is a risk option) A real true good friend will cover your back when real danger lurks...
3. Real true friend WILL PUT YOU FIRST. Hushai risked his reputation to protect David. (how many friends you know who will do this, few few few and far....) he was willing to be regarded a traiter to save David! SADLY MY HONEST HEART REALITY I VE COME TO EXPERIENCE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST JESUS FAR TOO FEW ABSALOMS AND HUSHAIS!! No wonder “the body is bleeding!”
4. Real true friend WILL PROTECT YOU. Hushai purposely gave Absalom bad advice to protect David and then smuggled out an urgent message to warn him of danger (how many of your friends would do this...would they rather see you fall in danger traps or back stab you...) let me tell you very real very straight from the heart: a friends commitment is not governed by convenience!
With all this said can i ask you to ask yourself: How DEEP or how shallow are your friendships? Have you ever shown appreciation for sacrificial friendship in your life circle my friend?
This led me to againg going deeper wondering but then how many KIND OF FRIENDS are there really... i really needed these answers why?: THE KEY FACTOR IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS RELATIONSHIPS. JESUS SAID “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU”(luke 17:21) In other words He would simply today say “The Kingdom of God is within you = JESUS. So? DEMONSTRATE IT!” simple as that but oh how humans love to complicate the simple basics of Jesus Truth...
So what are the 3 kind of friends – this i found again as i was exploring ACTS...:
1. FRIENDS WHO CLEAVE ( Acts 19) they assign priority to relationships. They survive storms with you. (acts 27) we all need a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Prov 18:24) i cannot but summarise it as: a real true friendship simply means suffering with our friends.
2. FRIENDS WHO INTERCEDE (Col 4:12) we all need friends or a friend who is praying for us as a priority.
3. FRIENDS WHO LEAVE. Demas is such example (Col4:14) (2 tim4:10) some times friends become fellow workers & then decide to leave (desert a friend) just like Demas.
So with this mouthful said which friend are you today? Do you cleave leave or intercede when the pressure is on my friend? ....
I wanted to know more said ok God, you re God of covenant so how about covenant friendships? I was led to the example oh so beautiful of David and Jonathan( 1 Sam) who shared a remarkable friendship from which you and i can learn many many many lessons... Dear God this day i pray for myself for all reading this to begin and DEMONSTRATE REAL FRIENDSHIP”as a way of life! Why did their friendship work if i can put it that way:
· They accepted each other as God accepted them
· They loved each other wants and all!
· They covered each other without covering up for each other – they protected covered each other without excusing their weaknesses!
· They put their own interests on the line for each other.
· They made a binding covenant with each other (if u wanna see friends run ask them for this commitment...friends don’t want to be committed take accountability responsibility to be bound in convenant... )(1Sam20:42)
In closing allow me to simply say this: Frienship REAL TRUE FRIENDSHIP is much more than being friendly with others, rather it is a DEMONSTRATION OF GOD S LOVE TO ONE ANOTHER. Dare to demonstrate His Love!
Ps: Choose your friends well! How blessed are we when we do enjoy friendships like that between Pythias and Damon.. Jesus said “Greater Love has no man (guess nor woman) than this: that he she lay down his her life for his her friends ( John 15:13)
May i rather be found a REAL GOOD TRUE FRIEND OF FEW than a friend of many but no covenant friendship...
Love you all to life for Life
Mwahx
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