Friends & Leaders Part 1: Friendships.
It’s taken me nearly 30 years, but I’ve finally come to realise some things about friends: you need them. Friends are vitally important, especially to people in ministry.
In a hand written letter to Simòne, from one of her friends, penned on the back page of her Bible, is, what has come to be, my favourite saying about friendships,
“…Friendship is a special gift from God’s heart – picture it like a garden, for it to grow and flourish, you need to spend time in it; you need to water it with encouragement and sprinkle seeds of love for growth and for yielding fruit…”
Picturesque and sentimental I know, but none the less, very true. For a close friendship to truly grow in strength and overcome the test of time, it must be tended to by all people involved in the friendship. If one person fails to plant seed or pull weeds, that friendship will not bloom to its full potential.
There are three different types of friendships that I identify with: core, good and casual. The first of these, core, I believe is the one that requires a lot of gardening and as a result will produce much fruit and be a blessing to your life for years to come. But there are some guidelines that should be adhered to.
Core friends are those whom you have the pleasure of spending quality time with. These are the people with whom you can be completely honest and transparent; whom you can share your heart with, your struggles and your dreams.
I believe this kind of friendship happens only with one or two people. Jesus had a core relationship with Peter, James and John. But distinction was given to John – the Bible calls him ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’.
More about this next time.
This is so good….Its true core friendships take time to develope and it is so important.