Friendship...

My whole life I have had many friends come and go in and out of my story. I have lost some and gained some for one reason or another, each one leaving a line on the pages of my story, some a paragraph, some a chapter. There are only two that I have remained close with my whole life, and one new close friend. One lives far away and the other, well she is my best friend and I see her all the time. Our friendship has had its up and down seasons, but the one thing that our families have taught us over the years is that friendship is not the beginning and end all of life. Christ, His bride the church and His Kingdom are what our lives are to be built around. I know for certain that if my best friend and I had based our lives or our joys on our friendship, we would no longer be friends. It is so easy for us to make our families, our friendships or any relational thing an idol. My best friend is reliable, always there, funny, makes excellent coffee, can draw while I have zero ability to make a round circle. She is a much better piano player than I am and she is very tall and skinny. I am neither of those things. So you are probably thinking, Why are they best friends? Well, if we based our friendship off those kinds of things we wouldn't be. I would be jealous of her tallness and artsiness and she of my writing and academic mindset. Our friendship is based on our shared commitment to God, His Church and His Kingdom. I know that her part to play in His story is playing the piano for church, making beautiful art and amazing coffee and being an excellent girlfriend to her godly boyfriend of whom I very much approve. She knows my part in His story is to teach children, help administrate things at church, write blogs and books and study Latin. God has given each of us a part to play in His story, and graciously gave us our friendship to mutually encourage one another. Best friends, or friends in general are not meant to be the basis of your life. They are not meant to be your everything and all. Jesus is our everything and all. He is the basis of our life. His church and His Kingdom should be our main priorities. Friendships fall apart and severely disappoint when the expectation is laid on them to fill a void. They are not meant to be that. True relationships and friendships spring from rightly ordered loves and lives. We will lose these things and be truly sad and lonely if we idolize our friendships. We should encourage and fight for our friends, but Jesus and His first things must remain our first things. My best friend and I do not have it down perfectly, but we try to keep our lives ordered properly and when we do, our friendship works as it should. If we are not, well it's not so pretty. So order your lives according to Christ and His Kingdom, not your friendships and relationships. Then you will find what true friendship is.