We’re enjoying a sunny, 80-degree weekend. Saturday the high schoolers had a car wash to earn money for the missions trip this summer. Not being Star Wars buffs, we haven’t caught on to the commotion regarding the third release, but in our curiosity rented the first two films this weekend. With those under our belts and hearing some positive reviews we are considering braving the mobs to see the Revenge of the Sith sometime this week.

I was able to have a nice long dinner with one of the girls in my small group as we talked about the upcoming events in her life, friends and the Lord. I have been realizing more and more the need to have deeply spiritual conversations with others. To purpose to do so rather than waiting for them to suddenly come up. The Lord is growing me as I seek Him out and this excites me to want to talk with others about it as well. In this same train of thought, Bobby taught from Romans 1:12 today.

There is this lie in Christianity today that says that “spiritual” people don’t need others, just their relationship with God. Some people who know how to read and study the Word and have clear spiritual vision reveal that it is actually quite clouded when they act like they don’t need others. Man was not created to be alone, as we can see when God provided Adam with Eve in Genesis 2:18. Throughout Scripture we can see that we need others encouraging and helping us along in our pursuit of Christ. To say that we can do it alone, or cannot find others to do it with us does not suffice. We must share in mutual faith with others.

A threefold relationship is strongest because it includes the two of mutual faith and the Lord. Man is not meant to be alone. Life is better with companionship, God declared this at creation. In Titus 2, Paul shows how important this companionship is for spiritual edification by calling the older men and women to encourage and admonish those younger than them to walk in the way of the Lord. The second greatest commandment, following the call to love God with all we are, calls us to love others. It is critical that we seek out and invest in relationships of mutual faith to strengthen our own walk with the Lord, to keep us soft and open to change and for us to be obedient in our love for God.

I know that I have some friends like this, those of mutual faith. Not just other women who are Christians, but others who have a deep rooted passion to know Christ and seek His face actively every day. These friendships, including my marriage, have been teaching me to not be so selfish but to be about putting them as more important than myself, with the Lord as the foundation for the relationship. I was convicted when Bobby challenged the students about not having godly relationships with the people in their lives. Our friendships cannot consist of shallow talk, compromise and rarely mention Christ. I had to ask myself, how am I seeking to encourage the people God has put in my life towards His will?