Friendships

Hi everyone! Welcome to my new blog. As many of you know last week I went to Cragmont Youth Camp and I had a wonderful time meeting new friends and becoming closer to God. This was my third year attending this camp, and it was definitely my favorite year so far. We had wonderful lessons and sermons but one that stood out to me was about friends. The topic is "Are your friends real friends?" There is soooooooo much scripture about friendship which I will include throughout the blog. In our class, we talked out how important it is to surround yourself with Godly, Christian people. This is because whoever you surround yourself with is how you will act. I've noticed in my life that I had not surrounded myself with people that will strengthen my relationship with Christ. Proverbs 13:20 says, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." I want to change who I surround myself with, but I'm not sure how. It is something that I have been praying to God about so he can guide me in the right direction. We also discussed what a true friend is. True friends love at all times, weep with you, rejoice with you, encourage you. This part of the lesson hit me hard because not only did I know people who haven't done this to me, I also haven't done this to others. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." This verse describes what a true friend does for others. In class we also discussed two categories that our friends are out into to determine if our relationship with them is a Christian relationship. The first category is a lampshade. This is a friend who knows who God is, but covers his light. The second category is a light post (which is what everyone should strive for.) This is someone who knows about God and isn't afraid to show his beautiful shining light. As I was listening to the lesson, I thought to myself "I think that I am a light post, but is that what others think of me." This was stuck in my head the whole day. That night we had a wonderful sermon about how we could become a Christian friend. We discussed 4 things you must do to become a Christian influence on others. The first thing is to know who you are. My first thought is, "How would I not know who I am?" But it turns out that you must know who you are when it comes to your walk with Christ. The second thing was to know whose you are. This was describing and making sure that everyone knew that we are God's beautiful children and we must make sure that everyone knows this. The third thing was probably the most obvious one, which was to surround yourself with Christians. I know that many people don't go to Christian schools, so I know it can be hard to do. I know, because I'm in the same boat. But it is important that you make sure that non believers don't have an influence on you. I was thinking in my head how many non believer friends I have and wondering what to do. But then the fourth thing answered my question. The fourth thing was to also surround yourself with non believers and become an influence on them as a Christian. The past three years I have been at my new school I just now realized how much of a terrible influence I have been on others. I want to conclude with John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one's life for one's friends." In the end the two most important things to do for a friend is to guide them through their walk with Christ and be loving. I hope this helped anyone who is struggling. Because it definitely helped me. 

With love, 

Madison

Here is some more scripture about this topic: 1 Corinthians 15:33/ Proverbs 12:26/ Proverbs 27:17/ Proverbs 17:17