Prized

There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” (Thomas Aquinas)

What makes a perfect friendship? How do you find and keep friends that encourage and strengthen who you are? How do you maintain friendships with the demands of your everyday life? With these questions in mind, reflect   on the most significant friendships you have.

Think of that person who you can call at any time of the day when you need some advice, or when want a good laugh. We need to make a greater effort to connect face to face with our friends. Close friends are the ones that provide both spiritual and mental renewal.

They are the ones who give hope in life’s most difficult situations, help to de-stress our life, and provide affirmation of our life’s path. When you and your friends are investing in a conscientious relationship, meaningfulness often follows. No better example of biblical friendship can be found  than in Ruth 1:1-18 (ERV):

1 Long ago, during the time the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah. He, his wife, and his two sons moved to the country of Moab. ² The man’s wife was named Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. They were from the Ephrathah family of Bethlehem in Judah. The family traveled to the hill country of Moab and stayed there.

³ Later, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, so only Naomi and her two sons were left. ⁴ Her sons married women from the country of Moab. One wife’s name was Orpah, and the other wife’s name was Ruth. They lived in Moab about ten years; ⁵ then Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left alone without her husband or her two sons.

⁶ While Naomi was in the country of Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had given food to his people in Judah. So Naomi decided to leave the hill country of Moab and go back home. Her daughters-in-law also decided to go with her. ⁷ They left the place where they had been living and started walking back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi told her daughters-in-law, “Each of you should go back home to your mother. You have been very kind to me and my sons who are now dead. So I pray that the Lord will be just as kind to you. ⁹ I pray that the Lord will help each of you find a husband and a good home.” Naomi kissed her daughters-in-law, and they all started crying. ¹⁰ Then the daughters said, “But we want to come with you and go to your family.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “No, daughters go back to your own homes. Why should you go with me? I can’t have any more sons to be your husbands. ¹² Go back home. I am too old to have a new husband. Even if I thought I could be married again, I could not help you. If I became pregnant tonight and had two sons, ¹³ you would have to wait until they grew to become men before you could marry them. I cannot make you wait that long for husbands. That would make me very sad. And I am already sad enough—the Lord has done many things to me!”

¹⁴ So again they cried very much. Then Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye, but Ruth hugged her and stayed. ¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her own people and her own gods. You should do the same.”

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you! Don’t force me to go back to my own people. Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you sleep, I will sleep. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me if I don’t keep this promise: Only death will separate us.” ¹⁸ Naomi saw that Ruth wanted very much to go with her. So Naomi stopped arguing with her. 

Fighting for your friends involves asking yourself these questions

1.   What friend do you need to fasten to today?

“We don't lose friends. We just find out who the real ones are.” (My True Valentine)

2.   How can you sacrifice for a friend today?

Do not love a friend who hurts you; and do not hurt a friend who loves you.
Sacrifice everything for a true friend;  but do not ever sacrifice a friend for anything! (FriendsQuotation.com)

3.   What do you need to share with a friend today?

“Happiness is time spent with a friend and looking forward to sharing time with them again.” (Lee Wilkinson)

 

“A friend is someone who helps you up when you're down, and if they can't; they lay down beside you and listen.” (Winnie the Pooh)[i]

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[i] Inspired by the sermon “Fight like a Girl: Fight for Your Friends” (installment two) Sunday May 20, 2018 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH. Additional source used: “7 Traits of True Friendship” by Greta Gleissner