It’s really important for Christian friendships to look drastically different from other friendships, especially in the midst of conflict. Why? Because Christ gave. Shortly after Jesus said these things in John 15, he practiced what he preached: Christ gave his life for his friends

We too live in a world where our hearts are broken over the legacies of dysfunctional families, unfair dealings, unjust discriminations, unending shame and deep sorrow experienced in life. Unsettling fears can weaken our hope and send us on searches for security. And we usually search for security by bargaining with the very things we try to save ourselves from.

Christ was the only man who lived the perfect life, who wasn’t prideful but rather humble when he came to this earth, leaving heaven so that we could have eternal life. He had every right to stay in heaven and yet he came to earth and died so that we could live.

Jesus could have chosen to leave our relationship with God broken, refusing to address the offense of our sin. Instead, we see that Jesus is the perfect example of someone who entered the conflict of our sinful nature for the joy of being in a deeper relationship with those who put their trust in Him.

What can we say to the chaos, uncertainty, sadness, and other things that have come from 2020? That God has been faithful to His people before and He will be faithful to us again.

Yet while we desire the kind of strong friendship we read about in our favorite stories (some of the top selling books of all-time--The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--are about friendship) we often feel our friendships are shallow waters, fragile bonds that can be broken at any point of disagreement. But why is this the case?

The world around us seems to push us further and further to the margins, out of the Earthly kingdoms in which we find ourselves. As many of us fight and claw to keep the idea of a “Christian Nation” alive, in reality we are not members of any earthly nation at all.

Perhaps what ails us most is not burdens, but the lack thereof. In believing that true freedom is found in no limits or burdens on your life, you might actually be heaping greater burdens on yourself.