Our Spiritual Metamorphosis: Step 4 – Making Friends Series

Our Spiritual Metamorphosis: Step 4 – Making Friends

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

We now have arrived at step number four of our thoughts about Spiritual Transformation or Our Spiritual Metamorphosis. It has been a learning process for all of us. I personally have discovered new territory as I have studied to bring this sermon series. These new findings have helped to shape my growth in discipleship, and I hope it has been of equal discovery for you.

Each week I have shared a little poem or song to open up our thinking processes. Through such we have arrived at a jumping off point to carry us into our time of sharing biblical principles that will help us in our C-L-I-M-B of Spiritual Metamorphosis as we allow God to intervene in our lives and to permit His Holy Spirit to speak to our heart and soul.

The song I have chosen to share with you today should be fairly well known, especially to those who have spent a part of their life either in scouting or church related organizations as a child. Some may recall this little jingle from their school days. So, here it is:

Make new friends,

But keep the old.

One is silver, the other gold.

A circle is round,

It has no end.

That’s how long, I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright,

It warms the heart.

We’ve been friends, from the very start.

You have one hand,

I have the other.

Put them together, we have each other.

Silver is precious,

Gold is too.

I am precious, and so are you.

You help me,

And I’ll help you

And together we will see it through.

Across the land.

Across the sea.

Friends forever we will always be.

(Source: ScoutSongs.com)

PRAYER

The year: 1994. The date: September 22nd. The debut of a new American sitcom: Friends. The plot: Six twenty-somethings, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find companionship, comfort and support they get from one another to be the ideal solution to the pressures of life.

Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman the show became a staple of the NBC Thursday night line-up. It was a huge success during its ten year run, during which all the members of the cast achieved household celebrity status. Actors Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer let us know exactly what the theme song of the series said was definitely true: “I’ll be there for you.”

The final episode of the show was watched by an estimated US audience of 51.1 million. It still attracts good ratings for its episodes in syndication and is broadcast in one hundred countries. During its ten year run, the show won 6 Emmys, a Golden Globe, 2 SAG Awards and 56 other various awards with 152 nominations.

Friends has definitely made some notable contributions to various areas of our popular culture, particularly in fashion. The sitcom was noted for its great impact on our everyday fashion and hairstyles, especially that of Aniston’s hairstyle nicknamed after her character: “The Rachel.”

LeBlanc’s character, Joey, coined the all familiar catchphrase “How you doin’?” has become a very popular part of our Western English slang and often is used as a pick-up line or when greeting a close friend.

(Knowledge Base: Wikipedia)

Why did this sitcom become so popular in its time and now still lights up the screens of millions of television sets even yet today? Why had its DVD set sold millions of copies worldwide? Why did we get to know each character personally to the point of knowing not only their successes but also their hardships and failures as well?

I tend to believe it all stems from our inborn instinct to want to have personal relationships with other people and to be able to know them as close friends. We love spending quality time with our friends. We all truly believe and practice the concept of this popular television series: “You can never have enough friends.”

Even as Christians we all still need friends; friends within the faith community. These close companions are important to us just as the thoughts of Solomon in the Ecclesiastes injects into the beautiful poetry he has penned for us. In these four verses of Scripture found in the book’s forth chapter effortlessly instructs of the virtues embodied by those we call our close Christian friends:

1. A genuine friend will be there to bring assistance in our times of hardship and heartache.

2. A true friend would provide both emotional and physical warmth as we face life’s situations thrown at us from this cold, cruel and hateful world of which we reside.

3. A real friend will fight to the end, never giving up providing protection of our reputation in the times of falsehood.