The Power of Friendship and the Gospel

As a single mom, a sole proprietor and someone with social anxiety, I often find myself alone. Sometimes being alone is peaceful and sometimes it’s daunting. When I’m full of anxiety and feel like there’s no one to turn to, I more often than not sit quietly and pray for peace and direction from God. While this is the best go to, we, as humans need others. God knew this, it’s why He made Eve (Gen. 2:18). It’s why the prophets spoke continually about community in the Old Testament (Isa. 1:17; Mic. 6:8). It’s why Jesus surrounded himself with followers (Mark 3:13-19). It’s why, after His resurrection the Church continued to worship in the same manner, as a community (Acts 2:42-47).

As many adults will tell you, it’s very hard to make new friends once you leave high school, college or the military. Every day life gets in the way. So, when I make a new friend, I rejoice. The Bible says that a friend loves at all times, and that as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Prov. 17:17; 27:17).

If I’m being honest, I’ve been a little more stressed than usual of late, asking God what direction I should take has been on my daily and nightly prayer list. To the point He is probably tired of me asking… lol. But I know that God is not weary of hearing my prayers, and that He cares for me and has a plan for me (1 Pet. 5:7; Jer. 29:11).

Anyway, recently I saw a post on FB from someone I follow, I commented and it led to a very long Messenger conversation that went in several different directions. But, in the end, I felt peace. Looking back, I realize, I just needed a friend. Someone who could listen to me, encourage me, and pray with me. Someone who could remind me of God’s truth and love. Someone who could be the hands and feet of Jesus to me.

This morning, as I’m listening to our pastor give the sermon, I’m taking notes. He says “As Christians, it is our job to find what is missing or broken in someone’s life and fill it with the gospel.”  What does that mean, I wondered? 🤔 Then he goes on to talk about a young man who came to church alone one Sunday. The pastor and he chatted for a bit and the young man proclaimed that he was a non-believer. The Pastor asked him, out of genuine curiosity, “so why are you here?” He said, “I’m looking for friends and I thought church would be a good place to find some.”

The pastor took that opportunity to introduce that young man to new friends, and the gospel. He shared with him the good news of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose again, so that we could have eternal life and a relationship with God (1 Cor. 15:3-4; John 3:16), and welcomed him into a new fellowship.  As he introduced him to each new person, the young man was given the opportunity to make a new friend, and each person the opportunity to fill the missing piece in his life. 

We never know when we meet someone what their brokenness or missing part is, what we do know is that Christ has promised to fill those gaps with His love. And we, as the body of Christ, are the vessel by which He does that. We are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, to shine His glory and flavor His grace to those around us (Matt. 5:13-16).

We may worry that we are “not called” to be spiritual leaders or that our sin keeps us from being worthy enough to share His Word. All we have to do is look at all of those who came before us. The prophets and apostles of the Bible were not perfect, they had their flaws and failures, but they were chosen by God and used by Him for His purposes. Moses was a murderer, David was an adulterer, Jonah was a runaway, Peter was a denier, Paul was a persecutor, and the list goes on. Just like you and I, none were worthy, yet, all were chosen.

It has been said, God does not call the prepared, He prepares the called. While I have been a personal example of this miracle, I will say that once called, it is our duty to listen to how He wants us to prepare ourselves. This is so others will see Christ in us. There are so many great and wonderful songs on Christian Radio that speak to this message. Two songs that come to mind are Christ In Me by Jeremy Camp and Nobody by Casting Crowns. These songs remind us of our identity and our calling in Christ. The more like Christ we are, the more time we spend in God’s word, the more prepared we will be to fill the gap for someone who is missing out on the joys the gospel brings!

I implore you to take this opportunity to self reflect, see where you might be able to fill a gap, or maybe you have one that needs to be filled yourself. Either way, allow Christ’s love to be the concrete that fills your soul by reaching out and sharing what you know, the joy that the truth of the gospel and God's love brings.