Christmas Friends
Friends are a huge part of our journey, and God has made us to give and receive through them. There are great principles in the Bible about being connected with others. Friends encourage, challenge and help us along the way. This is a part of our process, and without friends our destiny doesn’t happen – period! This is the plan of God.
However, this is probably the most challenging aspect of our lives.
Imperfections seem to abound, and relationships come and go, sometimes leaving scars and sometimes sweet memories. This is a part of our story that can affect us in a variety of ways. Some shut down, others fight through and others create cliques to seek protection. We all have felt these imprints in our lives. In fact, our attitude and actions are based on where we have been with friends. They have shaped our expectations and slanted our outlook, yet God has Christmas Friends who help and heal.
Christmas Friends walk alongside you in the journey of faith. These relationships are rooted in the common faith of Christ so that commonality and purpose generate from Jesus. These are friends of purpose. God links us with others who help us through the ups and the downs, sharpening and refining our faith. We all need these people in our lives, and it’s our job to embrace them.
That statement is important, since Christmas Friends are not always the easiest relationships. In fact, they probably challenge us the most, since our connection with them changes us through the love of God. Our tendency is to pull back from those God has put in our lives. We like to choose friends who don’t challenge us and let us get by with the status quo, or help sometimes help us go in the wrong direction. Our decisions determine our destiny, and our friends reveal where we are going.
This is why we are attacked in relationships by offense, anger, shutting down, reverting to old patterns and not dealing with our emotions. This cripples us and others. It happens more than we know, and we all are tempted to follow this narrative. However – there is a better way in Jesus!
Who are your Christmas Friends?
“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Christmas Friends help each other to overcome their enemies, giving the strength to win and conquer. We all need this, because life presents us with many enemies and battles. Yet we have the victory through Christ, and relationships help it happen. There is deception in isolation, because victory and empowerment come from our relationships with others. This trap is based on hurt and disappointment, which cause us to think being guarded or alone equates to protection; but alone, we are more vulnerable to defeat than before. I encourage you to choose Christmas Friends! Embrace the reality that you’re not perfect, nor are others, so hurts will come, but relationships can last forever.
The victories of our lives will be won with our Christmas Friends.
Who are your Christmas Friends? Please don’t let offense of any kind to rob you of this blessing.
This holiday season, it’s my encouragement to show love and appreciation for these friends. Take time to say how you feel and mend any bridge that needs repair. Your friends are a part of who you are and where you are going. Don’t let anything or anyone block you from having Christmas Friends in your life. This is too valuable! I also encourage you not to count how many friends you have, but rather the quality of those relationships. This is not a popularity contest, and in reality, out of all your friends, you’ll have few who connect on the deeper levels of your life. Embrace Christmas Friends and watch your life get better step by step.
Merry Christmas and His love fill you more and more,
Pastor Dave
