Step Out, Make a Friend
Many of us are suffering from loneliness and the lack of true friends. It's not because of anything we have done, it may be because of what has not been done. Sometimes it's just easier to stay at home, in our comfort zone. But I have discovered it's worth the exertion it takes to invite your neighbor over for a cup of tea, or to ask a new acquaintance to lunch.
In a group of people, the usual greeting is, "How are you?" With the response of "I'm fine .” It's really not a very personal interaction, but it is the expected response. Have you ever answered the question truthfully, only to be met with their lack of interest? In church, we often have trouble moving from being an acquaintance into a deeper friendship. You can't get to know me very well by sitting behind me in a meeting, and I can’t expect to get to know you this way either. If we are in a room of people sitting in rows of chairs, it’s not an easy setting to make friends, but it is an excellent opportunity for an invitation to meet again. So take the initiative, and make the first move. Who knows, maybe you will be the answer to someone’s heart cry to God for friendship. It could even turn out to be a personal blessing for you!
“And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good works, not forsaking the fellowship that we have among ourselves, as the manner of some is: but let us exhort one another, and that so much the more, because ye see that the day drawseth near.” Hebrews 10:24-25(GNV)
—Donna Sorenson—