True Friendship
We were created to experience friendship in this life. More specifically, we’ve been made to experience friendship with God. Even so, we also need each other. Before the fall in Genesis, Adam and Eve were in such close communion with God and each other that they were “naked and unashamed”. This is a picture of being “fully known” without fear of shame. As we continue reading, we can see that Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil and we see that the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened. Immediately, they wrapped themselves with fig leaves in order to cover their nakedness, highlighting the shame that they now experienced due to their sin. From this point, we read that they began to hear the Lord God walking in the Garden as a loving creator in search of Adam asking “Where are you?” Adam responded, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” We see that, ultimately, the effects of sin will cause us to hide from God rather than draw close and confess to him what we have done. Despite this, we see later on that God makes provision for Adam and Eve by clothing them with skins, which points to God's sacrifice.
Within our deepest friendships, the common denominator that sustains those friendships is love, authenticity, transparency, and sacrifice. Throughout my own life, I have seen that the most rich and deep friendships I’ve had have been with people I can be completely transparent and vulnerable with. The beauty of the church is that we as the Body of Christ can be fully known and fully loved amongst each other as we confess our sins. Is this not what we find in being in relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Jesus makes this point clear of our friendship with him as he says in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus shows that he is the ultimate friend who knew all the wrong we committed, are committing, and will commit, and yet he was willing to lay down his life for our sins and in turn give us his righteousness. Therefore, due to us being clothed with the character of Christ we can come to God naked and unashamed before him and confess our sins to him, knowing he will not shame us but love us.
One thing I love about friendship is being able to choose your friends. When it comes to family, you don’t get a choice in regards to who your family is, but you do get to choose who your friends are. This is the beautiful thing about being chosen by God. By His mercy and grace, He handpicked you to be His friend for you to know him and enjoy him and he will forever be committed to you until he brings you home to glory with him. As it says in Proverbs 18:24, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Last year I went through a tough time of doubting my faith. As I look back, I see that this verse remains true. As I continued to confess to one of my brothers in the faith, I noticed the commitment he made to not give up on me but to take on my burden, encourage me, pray for me, and walk with me through it. This is ultimately what true friendship is all about. Thankfully through his love, I was able to see that in the face of adversity, trouble, and trials, Jesus is that faithful friend. He will forever stick closer than a brother. Let this truth be the guiding principle of how we can be better friends to each other.
Be Blessed!