Reflections: A friend is close A friend is someone who is close to you. In some cases there are friends who are closer to us then our biological relatives. We see in this passage that in friendship there is a deepness to your relationship. You have lowered down your wall of defences and made yourself vulnerable. They know the real you, warts and all. There is real intimacy. In my twenties I lived in a different town to my family, and after a few years I realised that my friends had become like
family. It was my friends who knew my fears and where I was at. And they knew this because I had let them in. I’d been intimate with them about my hopes, dreams, fears and emotions. They knew me deeply. You don’t need to be geographically close to be a close friend. Friends may be separated by time and space but can still be close, especially with the help of technology. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate that there’s a difference between a friend and an acquaintance. Drew Hunter describes it as the difference between snorkelling and deep-sea diving. When you go snorkelling, you hover on the surface and kind of bob along. You see things from a distance through metres of water. It’s beautiful and fun, but you don’t get to see things up close. Deep-sea diving, on the other hand, is quite different. You go down, you go into depth, you get to
see things up close and personal. It’s totally okay to have acquaintances. I have lots of them and when I see them I have lots of fun. But it’s helpful to know that they are not friends.
Questions:Â Â Do you struggle to go deeper than superficialities in your conversations with friends? If so, how can you change this? If no, how can I encourage my friends to have deep conversations?Â
Prayer: Thank you God for the gift of friendship that allows us to share deeply with our brothers and sisters. Please help us to be vulnerable in our friendships for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.Â