“A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.”

Proverbs 12:26 Berean Study Bible

Good advice for King Solomon! We have all heard the saying. “Bad company corrupts good character;” well, its true. We live in a world today with a warped definition of friendship. With the onset of social media, friendship has been reduced to a quick click of a button requesting someone to be a friend! A quick “thumbs up” or a “check mark” on a recent person’s has become the depth of most relationships. Many people are more concerned today about how many followers they have verse how many people are really involved in their lives! Some have even gone as far as suicide over worthless words written about them or being unfriended by someone they know. In many ways, our modern lifestyle has left know room for meaningful relationships. I remember as. A young boy going to grandma’s house every Sunday after church. One week dad’s mom, next week mom’s mom! Every evening when dad got home, we would be called into the house for a sit-down meal together as a family.  Man was created for relationship and that is why Christ died…to restore the broken relationship! God knew that we needed more than a quick thumbs-up relationship to survive in this world!

I love the verse in the book of John,

“I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father.”

John 15:15 AMP

The word friend here is the Greek word meaning to “be in agreement or harmony, in union which is in contrast to separation.” It has also been translated “beloved.” To be so in agreement and committed to each other is transcends love! What a beautiful picture of our relationship with Christ! 

““For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.”

John 3:16 AMP

We sometimes get confused with the word beloved as it has a connotation of a physical love. The reality is that it goes far beyond physical love into the realm of unwavering commitment as demonstrated by Jesus at Calvary. Notice though that the Scripture is clear,

“You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

James 4:4 AMP

Strong words of warning for sure! God knows that if we play with fire we will get burned! This world has a strong allurement to the flesh. If we forsake of “friendship” with Christ we run risk of falling back into the miry clay from which he rescued us! That is one of the reasons Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to give us the power to remain committed to our friendship with Christ! Remember the definition of friend? One who is “in agreement” and walks in unity with the other. We are called to daily take up our cross and follow Him. The Scripture says, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” 

Take time today with your friend! Allow the Holy Spirit to revel new and encouraging things from His Word so that you also may walk a life worthy of His calling! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken