Andrew Selle on Friendship

A friend of mine (and a wonderful Christian conciliator and professional counselor), Dr. Andrew Selle once shared with me a few brief thoughts on friendship, ideas that he adapted from his friend Joanie Doe (a pastor’s wife in Virginia).

He actually had another page of material on the topic that he gave me, but for now I will share just a few lines with you with the hope that we all might be thinking about how we can grow even more God-honoring, gospel-proclaiming, REAL friendships today:

What is a friend like?

– CONSISTENT: You are there for your friend. Consistency which is borne out of commitment.

– HONEST: You are honest with your friend for friend’s own good. A friend can give constructive criticism, and is also willing to take it.

– VULNERABLE: You are able and willing to risk losing the good feeling of being “liked” in order to truly love your friend. In marriage, friendship means being “naked and not ashamed”– i.e. willing to be transparent with one another, even though it feels risky.

 – BRINGS BLESSING: Friends bring deep affirmation. “I see and rejoice in what God is doing in you. And I also see the sins, but I love you in spite of them.”

A good start when thinking about friendship, don’t you agree?

I’m off to my 22 week prenatal appointment now … here’s hoping for a nice strong heartbeat!

Happy Wednesday–

Yours,
Tara B.