Finding Lifelong Friends

When I was a teen, a popular contemporary Christian song was Friends are Friends Forever by Michael W. Smith. It talked about having a lifetime of friendship, a tearjerker of a song that was used at many baccalaureate services and other memorable events.

This song points out that a friend is a friend forever if “the Lord is the Lord of them”. This suggests that we include God in our friendships. In Godly friendships there are not just two people involved, but three. The relationship could be represented by a triangle. You and your friend are connected at the bottom of the triangle to God, at the top, which would be over you and Lord of both of your lives. The Bible says that this is the strongest of friendships in Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Choosing Godly friends is so important. Friends have a tremendous impact upon how we think, feel, act and behave. The Bible says in Proverbs 12:26, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

It is difficult to obtain Godly friendships. Many teens today, who grow up in rural communities like the one I did, may have the same peers in their lives from the time they are a small child, until they graduate high school. Therefore, their choice of friendships is limited.

When I was a teen, I had the same friends that I had met in preschool at the age of three at least for the most part. These friends did not always uphold and follow the same morals and beliefs that I held. I soon found out who my “real Godly friendships” were just by the way they would react to my standing up for what was right or setting myself apart from what was wrong.

As a teenager, this was hard to do, but now, almost 10 years since my high school graduation I am glad I did so all during high school. I value the friends who stood by me, whether they agreed with me or not, and even more so I am thankful that God always sends the people you need into your life.

Because, now as an adult, I still maintain some of my old friendships, but I have also created new friendships, and God has given me true friendships where the Lord is the Lord of them. I am now blessed with a group of girlfriends who share my same beliefs, encourage my convictions, and hold me accountable for my actions. They also pray for me, cry with me, and celebrate with me. I am thankful to be experiencing the whole range of lifetime friendships that God has blessed me with.

Godly friendships may seem difficult to find, but worth the wait. Don’t give up on finding your lifelong friends.

This article was written by Alyssa Avant and is Copyrighted 2008.

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