MENTOR MOMENT – 27 OCTOBER, 2010
GETTING TO KNOW YOU – FRIENDSHIPS
I loved Amy’s evite…………………..Getting to know you, getting to know all about you. Can’t you just hear that old song playing? Relationships. Beginning them, cultivating them; this is our focus tonight with our video and then our discussion.
There are many scriptures dealing with relationships/friendship. I would like to share a few:
"Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?"- Proverbs 17:17
"Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers."
- Proverbs 18:24
- Proverbs 18:24
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
"A friend loveth at all times." - Proverbs 17:17
"The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them."
- John 15:13
- John 15:13
Think about these scriptures as we look at a saying most of us have probably heard:
People always come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend to you, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they just walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
the season eventually ends.
...
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. OUR job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they just walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
the season eventually ends.
...
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. OUR job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life.
A real friend is one of life's greatest blessings. In this day of temporary relationships, true friendship is rare.We use this term loosely. Look at FACEBOOK -- how many friends do some people have? Recently I found a Rent a Friend Website. Honestly, you can go online and rent a friend for an event, a chat, whatever. How can we find and develop lasting friendships?
The Book of Proverbs gives us some guidance:
To have a friend, be a friend. Go out of your way to show that you are interested in their lives. Ask questions.
To cement a friendship, be loyal. Demonstrate your willingness to love them unconditionally, even when your friend is not lovable. Be supportive even when your friend is not popular.
To experience lasting friendship, be an encourager. A true friend is someone who tells the truth, but always with your best interests at heart.
To have a friend, be a friend. Go out of your way to show that you are interested in their lives. Ask questions.
To cement a friendship, be loyal. Demonstrate your willingness to love them unconditionally, even when your friend is not lovable. Be supportive even when your friend is not popular.
To experience lasting friendship, be an encourager. A true friend is someone who tells the truth, but always with your best interests at heart.
Having said that, friendships/relationships are hard work.
Relationships are a learned behavior. Human beings are born with all of these emotions and feelings just waiting to be used to develop bonds with others. People long to be connected with other people because God designed us that way! It is an innate calling that cannot be overcome.
However; if we have experienced multiple relational letdowns, we will often stop seeking such a connection and opt to remain loners. Loners are prone to depression and sadness, despite their apparent ease and solace when they are alone. They have embraced loneliness because it is a safe haven of sorts where no one will let you down.
However; God encourages us to stand back to back. The Apostle Paul tells that “three are even better.” When three strands are braided or woven they become stronger immediately just by the relationship with the other strands.
If you have ever braided hair or rope then you know that it requires each piece to be carefully laid down and entwined with another until all three become woven in one accord. Once this process is complete, the cord becomes immediately stronger. But there was a sacrifice in the process, the cords had to be intertwined and could not remain untangled and separate. It meant that the same strand could not always be on top but had to alternate with the other pieces. Such is friendship.
So…… are we involved in others lives or do we simply call out from the sidelines as not to get to close?
Are we intertwined in the lives of our friends?
Do we pray for your friends? All of these questions require relationships that are involved, intertwined and inclusive.
All this models what the Lord is asking of us as friends who represent His Name. We actually honor Jesus with our carefully woven friendships! Once we learn how to be faithful in our friendships, it will allow us to develop a better friendship with Jesus too! He is the best friend we could ever have. And He tells us in John 15:12-14
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
This is our MODEL FOR FRIENDSHIP: Like the woven strands or braids, one laid over another and another and another until a single cord is formed.
I pray that these kinds of friendships can be formed in our group.
