| |
|
home | board | compass
| prayer | eCard |
08/24/2002 Entry: "Friendship"
It's been a grand day, spent in the company of friends at the National Botanical Garden of Wales (pictured). Eating and drinking, putting the world to rights, catching up on our lives, sharing concerns, letting off steam - that's what friends do together, isn't it? Yesterday on Thinking Out Loud, Craig wrote:
"Friendship is an extraordinarily precious thing. I haven't really understood that for many years.Back to theological musings next week"but I think he was more theological than he reckoned. Jesus said "I do not call you servants any longer ... instead I have called you friends." This relationship of friendship is, as far as I know, very little explored theologically. The church has emphasised other metaphors for the relationship between God and his people, images from family (father-child), economics (master-servant) and even politics (king-nation). But friendship could be a rich vein, especially at a time when some of the other metaphors are misunderstood or mistrusted. I suggest the following questions which might be helpful in starting the exploration:1. Who is your best friend?2. What are the most important qualities in a friend?3. What Biblical "role-models" of friendship are there?4. Is friendship always unconditional?5. A very few close friends or many acquaintences - which is preferable?
