Friends Should Be Forever – Friendship Myths # 2- Purity 1334
Purity 1334 04/24/2024 Purity 1334 Podcast
Purity 1334 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a magnificent view of the sun and sky over one of the Catskill Mountain’s six fire towers comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this scene on social media on or around April 25th, 2021. If this was your photo from three years ago, let us know and we will update the blog after the fact to give you the photo credit you deserve.
Well, It’s Wednesday, and I decided to share this mountaintop experience to visually remind us of all that we made it to another hump day but when after I selected it I realized two things that I didn’t initially when I chose it.
1. I thought it was funny how we can get to the mountaintop – and then actually build upon it to go even higher! That’s pretty inspiring – we can choose to decide that “This isn’t all there is.” And make efforts to go further than we thought we could to see if there is more in life to experience. Somebody built this tower – sure to watch out for fires – but also just to get an even better view of what the surrounding area looks like and to get a better sense of what they accomplished in summiting this peak. So if you get to the mountain top of whatever you are trying to experience in life, remember there:
a. May be more you can do – you can build on your mountaintop.
b. You should rise above it to truly appreciate what you have done – victories that are relished, remembered, and revisited are what give us joy and the motivation to move forward to new challenges or endure current ones.
2. The second thing I realized was that there was a person at the base of that fire tower! Hey there! I wonder if that was a friend of the photographer or just another person visiting the fire tower. If they were friends then I wonder if they are still friends now….
That brings us to our impromptu series on “Friendship Myths” that I decided to start yesterday after having a prayer ministry subject have a breakthrough of insight into their lives when the Lord revealed to them a lie about friendship they had believed that was a root cause to negative thought patterns and addictive behaviors in their lives.
When I researched the subject of friendship myths, I found a 2022 Psychology Today article by Sarah Epstein ( https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-the-generations/202202/8-destructive-beliefs-about-friendship) that addressed destructive beliefs about friendship and I thought it was good and was going to share some of its content, without really reading it, but I reminded myself to be careful sharing psychological research unchecked because it often comes from an atheistic worldview.
So instead of sharing all of the article’s findings at once, assuming it was all good advice, I have decided to do so with my commentary in which I will attempt to share good mental health practices with a “heads up” of a biblical worldview.
The first destructive belief and commentary that Epstein begins her article states:
“Our messaging around friendship is one-dimensional. We often speak of friendships in platitudes like “best friends forever” and ignore the complexity of these important relationships. Out of this simplicity, myths have emerged. Here are eight myths about friendship that need to be debunked:
1. Friendships should be forever: Some friendships last a lifetime. But more often than not, friendships shift over the course of a lifetime. Individuals change, their locations change, and what they look for in a friend changes. We need to normalize the notion that friendships regularly end and fizzle and that is OK.”
I really don’t object to Epstein’s sentiments here. We do often speak of friendships in simplistic idealistic terms and when our reality and expectations fail to come together, we suffer mental and emotional pain. If we believe friendships should last forever it will obviously hurt more when our friendships end if we don’t hold that idealistic belief.
On the terra firma, time, circumstances, and death will eventually separate us all from one another, so if we are viewing life from a practical or an earthly perspective we should see just how foolish it would be to believe friendships will last forever.
If we are seeking our happiness from human relationships, we are doomed to fail – or let’s allow for the possibility of an enduring lifelong friendship – that’s great – you guys were friends to the end, but what happens next?
Scripture indicates that if you don’t have a relationship with the Lord – you and your friends in low places will both end up in hell and Jesus’s descriptions of that place don’t indicate that it will be some eternal party for the unrighteous. No, He said it would be a place of “eternal torment (Luke 16:23), of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48), where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matt. 13:42), and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19–31).” (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-uncomfortable-subject-jesus-addressed-more-than-anyone-else/). So without faith in Jesus, “best friends forever” may be great for a lifetime but we get no sense of “friends in hell” – sounds rather paradoxical.
Anyway as we look at today’s myth – that friendship should be forever; we can see that the wording contains warnings about believing it. Any lie or false-destructive belief usually has extreme and subjective language.
In our first friendship myth, we can see “forever” is set forth as the standard for friendship, that if not met will result in disappointment.
Also the word “should” – is a key indicator of a possible subjective or relative belief. Friends should be forever – Should they? Says who? The word “should” usually indicates someone’s internal beliefs of what others ought to do or the way the world ought to be. It is imposing our worldview on a reality that may not cooperate with it. So instead of us holding on to the idealistic version of friendship lasting forever, I have to agree with Epstein when she suggests that we normalize the notion that friendships normally end and that’s okay.
This life will take us through different seasons, circumstances, and places and an unfortunate reality of those changes is that some or most of our friendships will end or fizzle out or have virtually no contact. Instead of lamenting over the transitory aspects of our human relationships, we should appreciate them and give thanks to God and to our friends who are in our lives, or who have been in our lives, right now.
Also, not to go against the grain of what we are trying to cope with here, but I have to point out that if we and our friends have faith in Jesus – our friendships actually do have the potential to literally last forever!
I’m not sure if me and all of my Christian friends (I have a lot of them – some I have never met in person) will be hanging out with one another for all eternity, we will all be there but how we will spend our time and whose immediate company I will be inis mystery . The imagination runs wild with the contemplation of what God’s kingdom – heaven – Christ’s 1,000 year reign on earth – and the new heaven and earth will be like but if it’s possible I know that I will desperately try to be “best friends forever” with my beloved TammyLyn, but as painful as it seems to contemplate I am not telling the Lord what “should” be and will gladly accept my assignment in His eternal kingdom where ever it takes me and regardless of who is by my side – but just saying Lord – I request a position where I can be in the company of the woman that you directed to walk with me through this life.
So hold on loosely to the things of this world, even your friends, because we don’t know what forever holds but if we know Jesus, we can rest easy knowing that we are friends with the One who holds forever in His hands.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s Bible verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Death and Eternal Life
John 10:27-30 (ESV)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
Today’s verses fall under the sixteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Death and Eternal Life.
16. Jesus’ sheep hear his voice and follow him, and he gives them eternal life. No one can snatch them out of his hand.
Today’s verses give us the joy of knowing that nothing can take us from our heavenly father’s hand. When we follow the good shepherd, He guides us and protects us forever. We will “never perish”. We are gifted “eternal life”. We are children of God and friends with Jesus. We are in a relationship with the ALL MIGHTY LORD – the most powerful being in and outside of existence – and He’s got us in the palm of His hand. We are safe. We are secure. And we should rejoice that all who know Jesus will be safe with us for all eternity too.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.
EVENING READING: ACTS 5
“They did not cease teaching and preaching
Jesus as the Christ.” – Acts 5:42
It is very instructive to notice the order of the two words “teaching and preaching.” The disciples first taught the Lord Jesus Christ, then preached Him. This is undoubtedly a principle which should strictly be regarded when working among people who do not really know the message of the Gospel.
There is no doubt also in the order of the two words “Jesus as the Christ.” It is not “Christ Jesus” here but “Jesus” (Savior) “the Christ” (the Anointed or Sent One). In teaching and preaching to the unsaved, it would seem from this verse that the order should be Jesus as Savior, then Christ as the Anointed One. This is certainly true in experience.
Let the example of Your disciples be my guide
when reaching the world for You, Lord.[1]
—————————more tomorrow————————
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, “Freedom in Christ” series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
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These teachings are also available on the MT4Christ247 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247
Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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