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What are the marks of a good friendship?
It shows you are able to lean on each other.
James 5:13-20
The English poet John Donne wrote this famous quote: "No man is an island." As we watch the old-fashioned friendliness of small-town life transform into the anonymity of urban life, we're starting to discover just how true that statement is. We need other people in our life. Not just a few family members or select group of friends, but neighbors, coworkers, and the people we run into on the streets of our community. God designed us to be social beings (Genesis 2:18).
Our need for others is especially strong in the church. When the first followers of Christ found themselves persecuted by society, they banded together, finding strength and encouragement in each other. In James, we see that our need to have friends extends to our daily Christian walk as well. Strong Christian friendships are marked by shared times of worship, joy, suffering, prayer, confession, and accountability. Without friends to share the ups and downs of life, you're stuck on a very lonely island indeed. (See also Ruth 1-4; Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; Proverbs 27:17-19; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.)
Good Words to Remember:
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19, 20
Today's Challenge:
How do your friends lean on you and you on them?
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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