Day 144

Mar 24: Job 1-16
Reading the beginning part of Job made me think about friendships and how important they are. I've had a million friends come and go, but how many of these people were my true friends? Does the fact that they came and went say anything? Most of them were probably superficial with weak, unsustainable bonds that connected us, but how much greater are the real friendships that are founded in Christ then?
When Job's friends come and see Job while he is ill, they are so adamant that he must have committed some act of sin to be feeling the wrath of God and are not encouraging to him in his time of suffering. Not only are they bringing him down further, but they're bringing a misconception of how God works, thinking that God only rewards good behavior and punishes bad. I would want the opposite of this from my friends. Friends who know how to listen and encourage, and friends who bring sound Godly advice. I pray that I'm humble enough to receive criticism when necessary, with confidence that my friends are truly looking out for me. That confidence comes from investing time in each others lives, not just superficially but on a deeper level and really getting to know what that person is like.
Is it possible for our friendships to be so strong and rooted in God that we could go about correcting each other with no hard feelings? I think about how much stronger we could be by continually lifting each other up in this way and hope that in our lives the answer would be yes.