Friends – week 1
My idea of what a friend is supposed to be is grounded in my late 1980’s youth group experiences (As is my belief that neon is a good color palate to wear). At the end of every camp or retreat, Michael W. Smith’s anthem of friendship would blare, tears would roll down cheeks, arms would be draped across shoulders, and the neon would be just as loud as our singing…
…and friends are friends forever…
Sadly, as the song faded, so did those friendships, and they kept fading. According to Dr. Daniel Cox, we are in the midst of a ‘friendship recession’ that started during the 1990’s, and this trajectory was only accelerated by COVID. Many of us can’t remember when a friend reached out asking how we were doing. For the majority of people, we are together in feeling lonely and alone!
We feel this way because we are designed for deep relationships. We are made in the image of a God who, in his being, is relationship. It’s no wonder when we feel and experience loneliness and isolation, it brings profound longings and yearnings.
Trying to define ‘friend’ isn’t an easy task, but here are the threads of what a covenant friend is:
A covenant friend…
… knows everything about you and loves you anyway
… listens sincerely with love and speaks openly in truth
… sticks by you even when you’re stupid
… reaches out and hangs out
… wants everything for you and nothing from you.