Making Friends
By Janis Buelow (DCE Intern)
“Good friends are one of God’s greatest gifts. Not one of us is meant to go through life alone and without help. God longs to use you as his hands and feet to those he has placed in your midst. He longs to make you a friend as he is a friend to us, in order to bless others and extend the reach of his kingdom.
1 Samuel 18:1-3 tells of the powerful friendship of David and Jonathan. Scripture says, ‘As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.’
Jonathan was an incredible example of God’s heart for friendship. Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. Behind Saul’s pursuit of killing David was his desire to make Jonathan king. But instead of seeking earthly success, Jonathan humbled himself before David and served him, thereby serving his heavenly Father as well. Jonathan chose friendship over worldly power. As a result, David became Israel’s greatest king and ushered in the lineage of Christ.” – First15 Devotional
During COVID, it was clear how little our society socializes outside of our phones. For the first time in over a decade, we were all forced to get off our phones and interact with one another. In the same breath, we lost any outside connections we could have nurtured and it was difficult for all of us. We learned how to be better friends and be grateful for the ability to physically connect and talk. This issue, however, is one we are still dealing with two years into the pandemic.
God reminds us of Jonathan and David’s relationship. Their relationship was so strong that it is written about in the Bible and serves as an encouraging outline of how friends should be to one another, even in the midst of the new technology era where we all are still learning how to really connect outside of the internet.
These past few months our junior high youth group has been watching the Disney movie Ron’s Gone Wrong, a funny, lighthearted, and yet provoking movie that is all about making new friends in the digital age.
The main character, Barney, struggles being the loner amongst people who were more connected through their phones. As a young adult going from a tech-rich, friend-rich environment to a new environment where I knew next to no one, I really resonated with this film. It can be hard to make new friends as an adult, and even harder when it feels like everyone online knows each other.
The truth is, God provides us with the amazing gift of a church community where we all may be different, but have one thing in common – loving God. That one connection can be the foundation of future relationships where we can build each other up and connect outside church walls in fellowship with other believers.
Dear God, help me to build up my relationships with others and give me strength to nurture new ones. Amen.