Friendship

"Such a friend allows me to be myself. Thoughtful one moment and silly the next. Between us, trust grows. If a word of fraternal correction is needed, the friend offers it directly, but the pained expression on his face tells me how difficult the reproof is for him. And yet he has the courage to tell me something unpleasent, but necessary-something that others should tell me but do not. (they renege for fear that I will not like them anymore. Their emotional equilibrium is more imporatant to them than my spiritual growth.) With each interaction, trust of my friend grows deeper...In my efforts to overcome my lifelong struggle with self-hatred, the despair of ever being worthy of love, i have been aided immeasurably by trusted and trusting friends who, with no ulterior motive, see something in me that I cannot see in myself. They do not merely tell me; they relate to me in a way which shows that they fund me lovable. Learning to trust my friends has been a slow but invaluable process." Brennan Manning- Ruthless Trust

While the only true friend we have is in Jesus himself, the quest we have on Earth to find people to share life with so often leaves us wanting more. We find people who love us for seasons, or relinquish our friendship out of difficulty or struggle or differences of opinion. But we should always draw closest to the people described above, who are not just wholely accepting, or wholely condemning, but wholely both. We need to find people and become people who are both wholely accepting of one another's imperfection and wholely brave to stand with us to confront lies that cause us to behave in ways incongruent with Christ in us. We need people both not afraid to love and not afraid to fight with and for us.

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