What is real friendship? It seems like a trite term but “authentic” would seem more so. It seems everyone is on a quest for meaning in relationships. One problem we face in building real and lasting friendships is the desire for instant gratification that our culture has produced. I think even in the prosperity of the first five years of this new century we grew accustomed to getting quick and abundant results for little effort. But this is never how friendships should work.
1 Samuel 18 introduces us to the friendship that David had with Jonathon. They were the least likely to be close friends but by God’s grace they were. They show us the type of hard work needed to make friendships last. You have to devote time and effort to building healthy relationships. It will cost you at times as you work out conflict. But through the Holy Spirit’s leadership in your lives, you have the opportunity to move each other closer to Christ and grow your bond as friends.
Proverbs 18:24 says “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” Do you have this kind of friend? Someone or a few you can share your struggles with maybe even disagree with but walk away still in committed friendship? Is there someone you could call when you are being tempted and ask for help? That is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. You need to make the investment in people to make these kinds of relationships happen.
As a small group leader, as you model this to your group, you will cultivate a culture of real friendships. I have had a few conversations recently about relating to each other and some of us are reading Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin (that’s for guys, sorry ladies). So I am moved to help build a value for real friendship among our fellowship.
