Friendships

It’s been stressed enough just how important the youth is for the future of the church, so I would like to focus more on the individual level. Friendships are crucial to a young Christian’s life, these friendships should be meaningful ones.

There are a variety of ways to describe a friendship. Someone might have work friends, school friends, best friends, and some might have church friends. These church friends are people that you typically see every Sunday and Wednesday in class or during service, but outside of church you do not have much of a relationship. It is important that the friends young Christians surround themselves with are meaningful and beneficial to both sides of the friendship. Including your church friends in your everyday life can be an advantage in maintaining a meaningful friendship inside and outside the church building.

I Corinthians 15:33 tells us that “bad company corrupts good character,” this statement could not be truer. Bad company does not necessarily mean non-Christians, it could mean any company that weighs you down or holds you back from your spiritual, mental, and emotional growth. If you have a friendship that feels like a burden or a heavy load for you to carry, that friendship is not meaningful.

When seeking out friends, do not only look for fellow Christians. While having christian friends is important,  you could be missing out on some very meaningful friendships with those who might need some extra guidance or faith. You could easily be someone’s main reason for following Christ or their biggest excuse to turn away from him. You should keep that in mind when you meet anyone. All of your friends should know that you are a Christian. If you feel the need to “put on” or act differently around your friends because you worry what they may think of you, your friendship might not be as meaningful as you once thought.

As you grow up, you will meet all kinds of people. These people will have an impact on your life and the way you view it, negatively or positively. You will have an impact on the people you encounter everyday, make it a positive one and make some meaningful friendships along the way.

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” Proverbs 13:20

-Abigail