While many of us are running around purchasing and wrapping gifts in preparation for Christmas, let us take a moment during this Advent season to contemplate one of God’s greatest gifts to us: friendship.
We might be tempted to think that we alone are responsible for choosing the friendships we have cultivated throughout our life, but consider this:
The Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, explains that, in reality, a few small changes in our life would radically alter our group of friends. A little difference in the date of our births, a few more miles between houses, the choice of one school or another, or a topic being raised or not upon a first meeting... any of these might have kept us apart.
For Christians, however, nothing is just chance. The Lord has been at work guiding our lives and our friendships. It is by His generosity that we are blessed with the gift of our friends.
Challenge: Extend Generosity to Friends
Pick one or two of the following ideas that you will commit to:
- Ask a friend how you can pray for them
- Pray for a different friend by name each day until Christmas
- Invite a friend to your Bible study or to join you at church this Sunday
- Offer to help a friend with an upcoming task or project
- Give a good spiritual book to a friend who likes to read
- Treat your friend to a nice lunch or morning cup of coffee
- Call up a friend to share an honest and thoughtful compliment
- Send a kind message to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while
- Invite a friend to join you and your family in your Christmas activities
Feel free to reply with the number(s) you are choosing if you'd like to share!
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."