Walking alone is impossible

by Marcelo Brandão·September 05, 2019·4 min read

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This Wednesday I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday. Yes, if you have not had this knowledge, I am just a young man who loves the Lord. But anyway, I didn’t come to talk about my celebrations. And yes, something that caught my attention when I received some messages. Even before this day I was thinking of writing about friendship.

In my time living outside the church I was always surrounded by people. It has never been my personality to be someone who prefers to be alone. The problem that some people have already lived in the time they were estranged from the practice of the Christian faith is that friendships hardly are deep. As I mentioned in the last text, Christian love never demands anything in return. We surrender ourselves (at least we should) to the others as Christ did for us. And by understanding that people who do not practice love are not perfected in God constantly. We understand that there will hardly be an unconditional exchange in a friendship where Christ is not the center.

Friendships Strengthen Christian Walk

In a short time living inside the church, I found a family. I have made friends and started to reflect on how important it is to have people alongside us who are heading toward the same goal. Most of the messages I received were about one day when I delivered a word of encouragement. Or how they see the Christianity through my actions.

Of course I do not agree with these statements, after all, I am a poor sinner like any other human. But they made me think about the importance of friendships. Just as love is perfected in us through the constant reminder of what the Christian faith is. Having people by our side reminding us of who we really are and how we have had a good impact on their lives through the love of Jesus is something that strengthens us greatly.

When we do not see tranquility and peace. We have people who remind us where to find it. If we get discouraged, we have people by our side who push us to keep looking. When we need to confess our sins, we do this to those who have been justified in Christ Jesus (James 5:16). Paul had Timothy, Elijah had Elisha, David had Jonathan, and several other friendships are mentioned in the Bible. So I see that i impossible to “be a Christian alone.” Even more thinking that God created men in order to reign all over the earth together and not just to be lone wolves that roam around thinking only of themselves.

Don’t walk alone

Ecc 4:8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”. This too is meaningless— a miserable business! (9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: (10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. (11) Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (12) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Valorize the people who walk by your side. People who love you with the love of Christ and seek to be perfected by His love, and who constantly devote themselves to see your growth. Always strive to stay close and keep good friends near. So that the love between all may be shared and that all may be constantly transformed, getting rid of gossip and evil that are works of the flesh.

We must not forget that it is always necessary to review friendships that do not fit the biblical standards and have caused us to stumble more than we repair ourselves day after day in order to live a blameless, holy and just life worthy of those who have been called to be children of God. I am not telling anyone to abandon non-Christian friends, but it is far better to influence them to the good than to let them influence us for things that do not fit God’s sovereign will.