God Designed Friendships

I have many acquaintances in this life. People I work with, people I see occasionally, people I remember from high school, but good friends are few and far between. Close friends are where I go to when I need cheering up; who really understand me for who I am. We encourage each other; remind each other to put God first and everything else second. We laugh together, cry together, and try to grow in our walk with God together.

Paul had many helpers over the years, but his letter to the Colossians specifically notes Tychicus, Epaphras and Archippus. Paul’s letter also gives us four facts about these men that we should try to emulate.

For Tychicus, Paul talks about his encouraging nature. Paul was sending him back to the Colossians to update them on all that was happening in Rome and encourage them in their faith. Do you have an encouraging friend like that?

Epaphras had two wonderful traits. Paul described him as “always wrestling in prayer” for the believers in Colossae. When was the last time you wrestled in prayer for someone? The Message says he was “tireless in his prayers”. Have you and I ever been “tireless” in prayer? The other thing Paul notes about Epaphras is his hard work. The term “hard work” is used so lightly in our society and we may think we work hard, but lets reflect on the life and times of these great Biblical men. For them there was no such thing as a 40 or 50 hour work week. Traveling to Colossae from Rome would have meant months ON FOOT in the heat and dust. And there was no motel to “leave the light on” for you. When it got dark you would have camped and forget about a drive thru fast food restaurant for dinner. Many of these men, even Paul, had day time jobs to support themselves and then they preached at night. Yes, Epaphras knew the meaning of hard work!

And lastly Paul urged Archippus to stay focused on the work the Lord had given him. Focus is something that is easy to talk about but in the heat of the battle, we often forget why we are fighting the war in the first place.

All these traits; encouraging, wrestling in prayer, hard work and focus are important for building strong friendships.  Which of these do you need to work on?  Are there friends in your life who exemplify these traits?  Today, pray for God to put someone in your path to you show these qualities.