Day 1 – Issue 20

Be Still Know

1 Corinthians 1:10a NLT

‘I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other.’

It doesn’t take long to discover that getting on with people can prove tricky and tiresome. Today there is an expanding library of volumes dedicated to “friendfluence”. Our human need for friendship is recognised as vital. Perhaps this is most evident with an ever-growing ageing population, where children move away in pursuit of jobs and parents, having lost their spouse, find themselves alone in a fast-paced technological society. These people discover they have an ocean of time to sit and reflect on friendships lost and relationships fractured.

As I reflect upon my own life, I recognise that I too have few friendships as I enter the autumn of my life. My bravado as a younger man, my disrespect of people, my assumption that I was liked for who I was and not for what I contributed, are all under the microscope of my mind. Reflection energises distinct emotions. I regret the loss of relationships I appreciated and once enjoyed and have an enhanced self-awareness of my own inability to manage friendship well.

We are complex creations, at our best when enquiring after possibilities rather than asserting our certainties. If relationship has taught me anything, it is that human interaction is fragile and not built upon a foundation of agreements. It’s a delicate dance, discovering the response and reaction of my friend to my approach as much as it is taking time to reflect upon my own responses and reactions in the friendship. Finding agreement about what we each desire and then establishing what we can live with out of respect for ourselves and each other will determine the quality of the friendship we enjoy.

QUESTION: At the start of the year, what actions could you take to live in harmony with your friends?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you do not call us servants but friends, and from our friendship with you, may we be friends to others.