Discipling Friendships
A Biblical View of Friendship, Part Four
God’s design for the church and discipleship is one of the most beautiful parts of the Christian life. Even though I grew up going to church, I couldn’t fully appreciate it for all that it was until I became a Christian in middle school. My eyes were opened to how astonishing it was to be surrounded by a group of people gathered together and unified by their love for God and desire to worship him in community. Later on when I got baptized and became a member, I began to understand even more what it meant to be a part of the church family. The deepest friendships I’ve made have been with other Christians— people who are passionate about living for the Lord and want to grow alongside me.
After Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the church began with fellowship: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). God created the church to be a community, an oasis in a wearisome world that we can gather in to be refreshed and go out from so we can bring more into the oasis.
Titus 2 lays out a framework for discipleship. It calls the older men and women to teach the younger men and women sound doctrine, to model and teach what it means to honor God through acts of obedience and self-control.
Have friends who are older and more spiritually mature than you. Have friends who are younger than you. Have friends who are less spiritually mature than you that you can disciple. The Lord teaches us a lot about him and how to live for him through these discipling friendships.
God’s design for friendship involves discipleship. One of the biggest joys this year in college has been the opportunities to be discipled and disciple others. At church, I’ve had adults in our college ministry invest in me. In turn, I’ve been able to serve in the middle school youth group and take what I’ve learned from so many role models to now invest in them. I’ve had older college students pour into and disciple me. I’ve had opportunities to spend time discipling girls younger than me and even those closer to my age. And the Lord has been kind to provide so many friendships this year where we mutually invest in each other. Through some of the most difficult parts of this past year, those friends have pointed me toward truth, prayed for and with me, called me out when I needed to repent, and encouraged me with reminders of God’s promises. The Lord has surrounded me with Christians to love and be loved by, and the time I spend discipling and being discipled feels so right.
Take the time to invest in relationships where you can dive into scripture together and push each other toward the Lord. Surround yourself with people who will point you to truth. The Christian life is a battle. Take advantage of the oasis that is the church and link arms with fellow believers who can fight alongside you. Push each other live for the Lord between now and eternity.