Friendship In Faith
by Rev. Fr. David Subu

“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’” - 1 Corinthians 15:33
“Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter: whoever finds one has found a treasure.” - Sirach 6:14

One way we defend the faith is by defending ourselves spiritually.  But we also need to have friends in the faith, those who support us, correct us, listen to us, and encourage us.  It’s been said for many reasons that a Christian alone is no Christian at all.  But certainly to be a Christian without a true brother or sister in Christ that we can call a spiritual friend is a difficult and dreary road to travel.

We often hear teens and young adults remark how the friends they made at church camp and other youth ministry programs are closer to them than many, if not most, of their friends and peers from school.  This is natural, since such friendships are rooted in the shared experience of the Church’s life and, shall we say, peculiarities.  Church friend doesn’t ask why we celebrate Easter on a different day, or why we don’t eat cheeseburgers on certain days, or what’s with the “odd wooden Virgin Mary picture” on our wall.  There’s something refreshing about being with someone to whom we never have to explain ourselves.

Faith friendships are also special because they can be deeper than others.  Together we may have mutually struggled to understand the faith, shared the same unanswered questions, and talked late into the night about the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything else.  Friends who are educated in the faith become great resources as we go through life because we know that they are walking the same spiritual road as us, and that they can help us in times of doubt, uncertainty, and temptation.  Besides our parish priest, and sometimes before him, our faith friends are the ones we will call first when something is weighing heavily on our hearts.

We can try to go it alone, struggling with isolation and despair, but why should we?  If we wish to preserve our faith, we will find that it is much more joyfully to live “where two or three are gathered together” in Christ’s name.  Defending the faith is not meant to be done alone, without any help; rather, it is rooted in the sturdy shelter of our friendship with other Christians.  And without such help, who could stand?

Food for thought...
1)  What friendships do I have in the Church?  Do I know any faithful Orthodox Christians outside my family or parish?
2)  To whom or where do I go when I have a question of faith?  What type of “help” am I getting?  How does this impact my faith?
3)  What am I “missing” in my fellowship with other Christians?  Have I been a good spiritual friend to others myself?  If not, how can I change this?

* from “The Orthodox Church” magazine, Vol. 42, No.11/12, Nov/Dec 2006