Friends in a broken world

What does the Bible says about FRIENDSHIP?

Spiritual friendship: (Paul J Wadell)

Every friendship is formed around shared goods that identify the friendship and help the friends understand the life and purpose of the friendship. In spiritual friendship the principal good is a mutual love for Christ and a desire to grow together in Christ. This is what distinguished spiritual friendship from other relationships. In spiritual friendships, the friends are centered in Christ, they seek Christ, and they strive to live according to Christ. Through their friendship, they want to help one another live a godly and holy life. They want each other to be resplendent in goodness. 

"So while we work to strengthen the friendships in our lives, and in the lives of others, we need to nurture our friendship with Christ..."

FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD (R. Paul Stevens)

Friendship with God and humankind is the ultimate goal of God's grace and the spiritual journey, as modeled by Moses with whom God spoke on Sinai "face to face" as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Abraham was a friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23) and Job hungered for God's friendship more than he desired relief from his suffering: 

"Oh for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house" (Job 29:4) 

Satan's question addressed the heart of Job's friendship with God: "Does Job fear God for nothing?" (JOb 1:9) 

Friendship, even friendship with God is not for anything. It has no utilitarian value. That is, our relationship to God should not be a commercial relationship in which we exchange piety for spiritual, even eternal benefits. 

We acknowledge the power of human friendship. But we also see that any chance of radical and permanent change lies in our embracing the saving friendship of God. 

This world is a world full of promise but also a world full of people with crushed hopes.

I pray that each of us will have good friendship with not only our friends but also with GOD-not for the purpose of entering heaven alone but a true friendship that we really value and the honour to be called a friend of God. So read this  book. Only 40 pages. heheheee


Friendship triads should be characterized by 3 biblical injunctions:
1) Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
2) Bear one another's burden (Galatians 6:2)
3) Encourage one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24)

Nowadays with all the technologies that surround us such as facebook, hp(sms and call), twitter, n etc etc.. I just don't find that people's friendship are getting any closer. I miss those days when I start writing letter and I truly enjoy that close friendship through letters. That's where I practiced writing better English and learn from one another. As time passed, even though I no longer write as much as those days, I love to read the letters that I got again and again. Some things can just strike to me in a way I never thought before and I learn something from it again. Reading letters made me smile and laugh again and again. No doubt letters take longer time to reach you but I still find it's better than sms and FB. Oh ya! Nothing beats meeting face to faceeee - as stated in 2 John 1:12 - I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete. Thank God for friends - they are gifts to you in life. We meet new friends... then we depart from one another. This process is unending but in every season where God send friends to build and encourage us to continue this difficult journey in life, thank God for them.. =DDD We are not alone. We can't deny that we will face all the ups and downs in every friendship but I guess that's what that makes friendship more and more beautiful because we learn to accept one another despite all the downs. =DDD

Yes! I want to be your friend a little bit more =D