Christian Friendship

“Most of us don’t need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with.”

- Robert Brault

There is something special about friendship isn't there? This week I have had the privilege of spending time with some of my best friends. They were in town for graduation, and chose to stay with us. As we sat around this weekend catching up on each other's lives, reminiscing on times spent together, laughing at good jokes, and venting about frustrations - it’s in moments like these that I cherish a good christian friend the most.

As the quote above says, I believe Christian friendship is like a medicine to your soul. It is something that strengthens your faith. It is something that sharpens your senses. It is something that challenges your flaws. Or as Solomon once said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man can sharpen another” (Proverbs 27:17). Paul has even made the statement “bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Well the opposite of that is also true - good company strengthens good morals.

The kind of people you surround yourself with - the friends that you have - will determine the kind of life you live. What kind of people do you find yourself surrounded by? Are they those who strengthen your faith in Jesus? Are they those who challenge you when you're in the wrong? Are they those who help you find God when you feel like He’s nowhere around? Every Christian needs good Christian friends. We need to surround ourselves with people who draw us closer to Jesus, not pull us further away. We need to surround ourselves with people who help us see the beauty of Jesus and not those who ridicule the life He called us to.

Find yourself a good Christian friend, and you will be a stronger, more grounded, and more faithful follower of Jesus because of it.

-Kolton Ballance

Your Spiritual Graduation

This week, all over the country, students are graduating. We just got back from Texas watching my brother graduate from college. I, myself, will be graduating next week with my Masters in Bible. Graduation is an exciting time for students who have put lots of work in. It’s the moment where our achievements are realized and honored.

Sadly, many people never make it to their spiritual graduation. In fact, many people never even enroll in school (so to speak). There are some who will never receive their crown in heaven because they never became Christians. But worse than those are the ones who think they’re graduating but never walk the stage. There are many who drop out of the faith before making it to their spiritual graduation. These will not receive their crown of glory. There are many who get all the way to the end, and “senior-itis” takes over, and they fail their final classes. Many Christians get lazy in their faith just before they reach their reward and thus miss out on it.

My encouragement to you to walk the spiritual stage and get your unfading crown of glory - to graduate (so to speak). Don’t give up before you graduate. The Christian walk is a marathon with ups and downs that require endurance and discipline and faith from start to finish. Don’t give up too soon. Don’t get lazy towards the end. Don’t fail the final classes.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

-Kolton Ballance