Monday, 24 November 2008
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QOTD: Friends and Faith?
by revelife crew 
How have you friendships influenced your faith? Have there ever been situations where you were led astray or where you were brought closer to God?
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Comments (17)
The most notable friendship that has influenced and increased my faith is my friendship with my friend, Wilma. Wilma is quite older than me, but a Christian. She had five children, but now has only 2. She lost a 17-year-old daughter to a drowning wherein 2 of her friends pushed her in a car into a lake. She lost her 18-year-old daughter to suicide after a fuss with her that night (The daughter was pregnant when she killed hersel, but Wilma did not know it at the time). And she lost her son, around age 23 I believe it was, from an apparent homicide. He was killed at a truck stop.
When Wilma relayed this part of her life with me, I was shocked. It's bad enough to lose a child at all, let alone 3 and then to horrible tragedies. The VERY fact that Wilma gets up each morning blows my mind. She is an excellent testimony to me of an amazing faith that is infinite!!! She is an excellent example of faith at it's best and most stretched, :)
My friend Ruby influences my relationship with God the most. Even more than my family sometimes. I met her right when I was having doubts God ever existed.
I guess God put her in my way....
I met her in the bus, and right away the conversation of God came up and she offered to give me bible studies.
She has been teaching me for more than a year now.
We went to the same high school and now we are going to the same college.
The way you choose your friends will ultimately have a huge impact on your life. Its who your investing yourself in. The times that I have been the happiest and the most fulfilled is when I have a good solid Christian friends. Were all striving for one goal and encouraging each other along the way.
My friends have actually influence my faith. When I was younger, I was a christian, all the traditional values- accept Jesus of burn in the fires of hell, you know, happy stuff. Once I got into high school, I met amazing people, sweet, kind, good people--- who were Wiccans, Jewish, Muslim, ect. These were good, kind people, living their lives with morality and looking for salvation--- though, accroding to my faith, their choice of religion meant that no matter hwo good a person they were, they were going to burn.
It was then I had a crisis of faith. How could I belive that so many good, kind people were going to eternally perish becuase of where they were raised, because of what religion called to them, becuase of one decision?! I could'nt. For a while I stopped worship alltogether, I could not belive in God who would do that, damn these good people to Hell. My God, the one I had been taught of, the one who I loved, he was not some omnipitant asshole, he was a kind, loving father. What father would cast his children aside!?
It was then I discovered Universalism, the religion I have accepted now. In my religion, all faiths are a path to the same God. God calls to us in different ways for different people- he judges you on your actions, your remorse, your love, your faith (whatever that may be!).
Well, for the most part... majority of my friends are Christians (I met them at my Christian high school). However, I have just as many non-Christians friends who have sat next to me during services. I try to avoid religious conversations with my non-Christian friends because I am not an expert at it. If anything, I might lead my friends astray because of my immature arguments.
I love the friends that I have, they always encourage me to walk closer to Jesus....and I have many friends that I try to follow their examples!
i tend to avoid having hardcore Christian friends. they are too judgmental and ignorant for me.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - So, all hardcore (I'm guessing that means very devoted to Christ ;) ) are judgemental and ignorant?
It's sad that you would think that way, you're missing out of some great people!
Many of the people in my life that I consider friends are brothers and sisters in Christ. In some of the relationships, I am farther in my walk with Christ, and in others I am not. For whatever reason, I don't feel that I have any friends who are in the same place as me, but I hope that will someday change. I am thankful for all of my friends, as they have all influenced me at one time or another - often for the good, and occasionally for the bad.
@awholenewbeginning@xanga - by "hard core," i mean those Christians who talk about nothing but their faith, or have trouble dealing with anything that challenges it.
in my experience, i find the best friends to be accepting, intelligent, and like-minded. since i don't believe that one is doomed to Hell for not being Christian, i would hardly call most Christians like-minded. since a number of Christians reject science in favor of faith, i wouldn't call them intelligent or accepting, either.
if an individual puts more value in what someone believes, rather than their actions, i do not consider them a "good" person... and certainly not someone i want to associate with.
for the record, i am Christian... but i do not accept the Sola Fide argument. Jesus commands that we love God and each other. He says nothing about what to call the god we love. overall, i find that most conservative Christians sacrifice the latter commandment to prove the former.
I have had friends bring me closer to God and friends lead me away from God. One of my friends bought me the book Captivating for a Christmas present, and I still read it over and over. That is the best book ever for a woman. We would talk about God and I would feel comforted knowing someone else felt the same way I did, and we would share stories of how God shed his light on us. Within this past year I have gotten rid of friends because they were bringing me down with them. I had friends who were doing drugs everyday and I told them Im not comfortable being around it and it ended our friendship. I told her she's not willing to change her lifestyle and Im not willing to change my lifestyle, and my lifestyle is being a Believer.
I've been extremely blessed with great friends who always inspire me and bring me closer to God =)
If we are to love our enemies and friends, then what is the difference? How much influence we allow ones in our lives to influence us and how it affect us is important is the difference. We know one day an enemy can change by God's grace and mercy as we pray for them and they become a treasured friend. Sometimes, we can even fool ourselves how much we are being influenced by others. How many of the ones we call friends are sheep in wolves clothing?
I have friends today that can strengthen my faith to live stronger, I also have ones that can encourage me to compromise my faith and the direction I know I'm suppose to go. Yet, we are suppose to be loving. Vengence is suppose to be the Lord's not ours! We all fail and need forgiveness.
I am thankful for friends who encourage me and sometimes we can find them in places we are not expecting at times!!!
a lot, and there were many situations that they lead me astray further away from God.
sadly...my walk and growth with Christ was solo for 3 years. So i as it is now, i'm not realllly affected by my friends or other people when it comes to my faith.
I had problems in high school, and my Mormon friend told me to "Rise above it" in a letter she wrote me. Â I've never forgotten that, and made it my motto to an extent.