Why is biblical friendship important?

February 12-16, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Friendship Week 2

Friendship is a luxury that we don’t actually need.

Are you laughing? You should be laughing. Because that statement is ridiculous.

Friendship, and by extension Community, isn’t a passing fancy or a “nice to have” item on a task list. No, we all need people in our lives. We need friends to invest in us, and we need to invest in others.

I mean, you can serve complete strangers if you want. That’s a good thing to do. Investing time and effort to be a blessing in the lives of people you don’t know is a noble thing. But investing in a friend is different.

We need friends.

We need community.

And this is coming from a monstrous introvert, by the way. I am usually the happiest when I’m tucked in a cozy corner in a warm blanket with a cup of coffee and a long book. By myself. I like being by myself.

But what I’ve discovered over my lifetime is that the longer I’m by myself, the more self-focused I become. When all I have is my own self, that’s all I care about. If I don’t have friends to do life with, I can get stuck in thinking that my life is all that matters.

When you have friends, your world opens up. You get to live life to the fullest. You get to experience amazing things with people who are different from you. You can learn things you never thought you’d understand. You can share all the good things of life with people who actually see you and know you (and still love you anyway).

God made us for community. He designed us to need each other. So whether you’re facing good times or bad times, you need a friend to walk you through it.

That’s why, this week, we’re going to be focusing on why biblical friendship is important in our lives.

• Feb 12 - Some days you just need help (Proverbs 17:17)

• Feb 13 - Real friends tell you the uncomfortable truth (Proverbs 27:5-6)

• Feb 14 - Friends make you better (Proverbs 27:17)

• Feb 15 - We need encouragement (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

• Feb 16 - Jesus calls us friends (John 15:15)

Friendship and community is a gift God has given us that can change the course of our lives. The right friend at the right time can protect us, guide us, teach us, provide for us—God shows up in our friendships in so many ways.

Beyond the spiritual ramifications of our friendships, however, there are many practical reasons why friendship is important. For our memory verse this week, the option that came to mind is Ecclesiastes 4:10.

See? Practical. Friends can help you stand up when you fall down. If you fall when you’re on your own, you’ll be in hot water. It’s a lot more of a challenge to get up again when you’re by yourself. A friend can support you, take you by the hand and get you back on your feet again.

And that’s true literally and figuratively. Life is pretty much guaranteed to kick you while you’re down. I don’t want to be a doomsayer, but no one has a charmed life. No one gets out unscathed. Life is broken, and we all cut ourselves on its jagged edges.

If you have friends, you have someone to help you when you need it. You have someone to celebrate with, someone to grieve with, someone to laugh with, someone to do life with.

Yes, you always have Jesus. But isn’t it possible that Jesus gave you the friends you have too?

Blessings to all of you this week!

Amy

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