As iron sharpens
iron,
so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
I’ve gotten to know a new friend lately. The funny thing is that we did not come
together over a bunch of things that we had in common although we did (ex. Both
devout Christians). The bond grew out of
a dispute where there might have been a difference or disagreement. However, it was from their handling of our
differences that let me know some of the true nature of their character. Many times we want people that agree with us as
friends, and those who disagree are not.
What I have grown to believe is that really good friends do not always
take your side. In public, they stand
with you, but at an appropriate time, they will openly disagree with you if you
either have gone astray or done something that does not sound right. They may even use your own examples to
support their differing opinion. Those
are the people who I consider my best friends.
True friends are people God sends to protect us. We all need people around us to support our
life. Some people will say things you want
to hear just to be around you, and others will disagree just to spite you. Godly friends want the best for you no matter
what. To ensure that, they will provide
insight on different ways of looking at a situation. To do so, they will sometimes disagree with us
not to discourage but instead to encourage success of our walk of faith. This is how indeed iron sharpens iron.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friend.” (John 15:13)
Jesus put such a high value on friendship realizing that with the right
circle of friends, one will be steady on the righteous path. This is not to say all of our friends should
be Christian. In fact, inviting a good
person unaware of our awesome God into your Christian circle is a righteous
thing to do. So, can your friends be
totally honest with you? How can you be
supportive of your friends and yet bold enough to share the hard truth? My prayer is that we can take notes from
Jesus and be true friends.
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