South Texas is my home. I’ve been here 37 years now, and I love it. When I first got here, though, I’ll admit I needed help to fit in.
Tamara, a South Texan all her life, had to teach me some things (like how to add an extra syllable to Ji-im and how to take the husk off a tamale, to name a few.)
All joking aside, this is why relationships are so important. God created us to be there for one another—to help each other grow through our ignorance and immaturity into who He created us to be.
Here’s one way we know. In Genesis 2, God created Adam, the very first man. Then, shortly after that, He created a partner for him—Eve.
It’s interesting to me, though, that God didn’t create Eve right after He created Adam. He first showed Adam two of every kind of animal and had him name them. I’m sure there were several reasons for this, but I like to think God wanted Adam to notice he was missing something. Or someone, rather—someone vital to his future. He was missing Eve.
See, God knew we could do much more together than we could alone. Adam and Eve discovered this, too. And Jesus taught it, both through His words and His actions.
If you look at the history of Jesus’ ministry, you’ll notice that He always brought people together. He called twelve to be His disciples. He called three His closest friends. He called seventy to serve as leaders in the first church.
This method of leadership teaches us a lot about genuine friendship and how it can bless our lives.
For instance, Jesus taught that genuine friendship affirms one another’s callings through even the hardest seasons. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Adversity finds us all, but real friends remind us of who we are and whose we are in even the toughest of times.
Jesus also taught that genuine friendship assists one another’s change. Paul called this act of assisting “admonishing” in Colossians 3:16 (NKJV): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another…” Admonish means to warn or reprimand firmly. So, we don’t stop at encouragement; we also admonish each other, helping each other progress in our weaknesses.
Then, Jesus taught that genuine friendship aids one another’s completion. It sticks with us until the end. Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Real friends don’t exit off our life’s path when things get difficult; they stick with us until we reach the finish line, rejoicing with us that we’ve become who we’re meant to be.
There’s no better person to learn friendship from than the best friend we’ll ever have—Jesus! Learning to love like Him is one of life’s greatest joys!
