Friendship, Fun and Faith

Sunday we did an all age meeting based on our midweek Unlimited children’s club whose strapline is Friendship, Fun and Faith. We took the strapline as the theme for our time together and developed it through songs, prayer, games, bible memory verse and teaching. We had a great time, and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, old and young and everyone in between – we were being family together in the presence of God, and it was great to see it and be part of it.

Friendship is so important to life at any age, we all need friends, people who will be there with us and for us no matter what. We were not made to be alone or go it alone, we were made to do life together, and when we do it together we are a whole lot better for it.  That’s why we have church, yet it’s easy to go through the rituals (yes, even the charismatic ones), hide behind the meetings, put on the face, behave in the right way. Church should be a place of friendship, a place where we get to know and care for one another, support and encourage each other as we learn to walk the journey together.

Fun – have you had any recently? Yes I know, maybe the word itself is not in the Bible, but the principle is there. We were made to enjoy God, enjoy one another, enjoy the world he put us in. The ability to have fun, to laugh is given to us by God. It’s healthy, as Proverbs says, ‘a merry heart does good like medicine,’ and at the opposite end, ‘a broken spirit dries the bones.’

Going back to friendship, friendship without fun makes friendship very dry. We need to have fun together. Are you taking yourself to seriously? When was the last time you did something that was fun? When did you last laugh?

Faith. Faith is the essential element. We were made for faith, it’s part of life. Everyone has it, even those who don’t believe in God. Faith though can and is frequently misplaced, either in ourselves, others, things or the wrong ideas.

Faith involves believing, that involves knowledge, the knowledge of God – we can’t believe in who we don’t know. Knowledge is essential to faith and God has provided that revelation of himself in creation, in his Word the Bible, and in the person of Jesus Christ. Faith then is not irrational, it has a basis.

Faith though is more than believing the right information – the Bible tells us even the demons believe, and they tremble! – it also involves trust, the willingness to cast my all upon the One in whom I believe – that is something the demons don’t do, and won’t do. What about you, is your faith merely an intellectual understanding or does it involve trust? Jesus said ‘you believe in God believe also in me.’ Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord?

Faith (believing and trusting) in God changes everything, it doesn’t just bring us salvation as important as that is, it touches and impacts every part of our lives. Hebrews 11 tells us about a number of men and women throughout scripture who are commended by God for their faith in all sorts of circumstances, some extremely trying. They were imperfect people, some falling short bigtime, but they were people commended by God for their faith – some of whom did not live to see everything they believed come to pass. And it didn’t stop there, church history is full of them – have you read any recently and had your own faith stirred?

Friendship, fun, and faith, are vitally important aspects to life. Are you overemphasizing one to the neglect of the other? Are you getting a good balance of all three?