Friendships

“No man liveth unto himself and no man dieth unto himself.” You are having a huge influence on those around you. Researchers have concluded the “average person” influences over 10,000 people during their life time.

I knew an old preacher who would seemly, randomly say, “If you ever see a turtle on a fence post, you know he did not get there by himself.” This is more than a cute country expression. What do we have, and what do we possess, and what do we know, that was not given to us? I did not get here by myself, and I cannot get out of here by myself.

It is said that a man will be the same person tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and in the years to come except for two things…”The people he meets and the books that he reads.” I would add the road you walk down will play a major role in what you become as well, but your response to that road will be determined by the influence of the people you meet and the books you read.

God brings people into our lives, It takes work to keep them in our lives.

Pastor Larry Booker preaches a classic message “Whither have you made a road today?" The thrust of the message is that it takes constant work to keep the roads in our lives in good repair. We need to build and repair the roads, to our friends, our kids, our relatives, and our world. Not psychical roads, but roads of communication, trust, and respect.

To be and have a friend you must be willing to be;
1.Honest-
2.Vulnerable-

These two keys open the door to all true meaningful relationships.

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. “

This speaks more than to the physical nudity of their bodies They were vulnerable and exposed, in all areas of life. Your mate will never be your friend if you do not become naked and vulnerable, in your dealings with them. We spend much of our lives hiding like Adam with a fig leave, living in constant fear of exposure. Hiding behind a make believe mask. Living in constant fear that our pretenses will not be sufficient to hide our short comings and failures. We master the art of hiding, and in the process loose the value of relationship.

We are not who we say we are, we are what we are…

What are we? We are but flesh. We are lonely. (It was not good for man to be alone). We are all afraid...(How can we not be afraid? We are all facing our own morality, Eternity is not a maybe it is a certain...) And we all want to be welcome, excepted and valued.


“The first casualty of war is the truth”…

When honesty becomes inconvenient, friends become expendable.

“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. “
• With every bite you are devouring a part of yourself
• With every punch you are punching yourself
• If you ever land a mortal blow, It is you who will die.


The saddest people I have ever seen are those who have dried up and died, from self inflicted injuries. Isolated from God by their lies, isolated from their friends by the deceptions they have fostered. Separated from God and looking at a graveyard of former friends...

Again; When honesty becomes inconvenient, friends become expendable.

God never intended us to walk this road alone, First off he said he would “be a friend who would stick closer than a brother.” He said “I no more call you servants but friends.” Next he created the body of Christ. And he made it so no one part could function without "the supply of the other"… He said no one part could say of another part, “I have no need of thee.”

God brings people into our lives, it is our job to maintain the roads of care and communication.

Let me ask you, "Whither have you made a road today?"

What ever it cost to re-gain an old friend will be worth the expense. Again friendship takes honesty and vulnerability... that is a high cost. But worth every cent.


Here are a few quote that I thought you might enjoy

"My friends are my estate."
- Emily Dickinson

“A man riches are not in the possessions he holds, but in the fellowship of his friends.”

Pro 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.( thank you Jesus)

Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.


Pro 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.” Winnie Poo

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words”

“Much of the vitality in a friendship lies in honoring of differences, not simply in the enjoyment of similarities.”

“True friendship is seem through the heart, not through the eyes.”

"A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope."

"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses."
- Proverbs 27:19

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. 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."

"Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold"

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
- Mother Teresa

"Without friends noone would choose to live, though he had all other goods."
- Artistotle

"When friends stop being frank and useful to each other, the whole world loses some of its radiance."

Finally;

"Every man should have a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends."


thank you for reading today

lm