Skip to main content

Spiritual Friendship

Introduction

What does friendship look like in 2026?

  • Follow each other on social media
  • We celebrate each other's birthdays
  • Invite all our friends
  • Text each other

What does friendship look like in God's eyes?

1. Accepting One Another's Vulnerabilities (Selflessness)

TODO: And also exposing our own

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

(Mark 2)

A Paralytic man in those days was worth it. He can't bring any income, he can't do you any favors, he can't help you, he can only lay on the side of the road and beg; he wakes up in the morning and sees the ceiling. He is a prisoner in his own body. He has nothing going for him... he is taken as-is. And this problem he has is clearly visible to everyone... he's lying on a mat. 

The mat is the vulnerability. We all have a mat...

  1. Family Issues
  2. Anger Problem
  3. Bad Relationship
  4. Trust Issues
  5. Social Anxiety
    • "Hey man I'll pick you up, we'll walk in together"
  6. Past Trauma

Example of Radical Love:

  • Taking a day off of work to be with a friend ("I only have 25 days PTO!")

Four of the most incredible friends. They invested in him and went above and beyond.

2. Serving One Another

Make time for one another

  • Everybody has ten thousand things to do
  • You need a chunk of un-hurried time
  • Are you available for the people in your life?
  • "I was afraid to text you because you're so busy..."
  • "Sorry, I didn't want to burden you"
  • "I didn't want to bother you"
  • How many of your friends think "I don't want to bother him" or "He's probably not available"
3. Bring Him to Jesus

Nowadays we might have a friend doesn't bring me to Jesus, but brings me to Satan himself. Hands me to Satan as a gift...

  • I have a bad habit? YOU'RE gonna have a bad habit
  • I have an addiction? YOU'RE gonna join me in it
  • I have some doubts and some questions? YOU'RE gonna share with me in my doubts
4. Hard Conversations

Rebuke him if something is off

5. Wanting the Other To Be Better

St. Basil and St. Gregory

Back to top