The Blessings of Biblical Friendship

Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.   -Ecclesiastes 4:12


   This last week has been spent at teen camp, worshiping God and fellowshipping with other believers. The theme this year was 'Thirsty', which is what I was originally going to do a post on, but a late night conversation with a close friend changed my mind. I have heard, over and over, how we need to be friends with other Christians, because they will pull you up, while worldly friends will pull you down. But, I never understood just how that worked, since people often didn't go into detail about how to develop those friendships, and how much of a blessing they could be. Until last week, I had never experienced the incredible encouragement, that you can receive from others. So I decided that I wanted to do a post (or two) on the blessings of Biblical friendship, and for those that don't have a friendship like that how to at least begin one. (Since I'm in the beginning stages myself)
    One of the most outstanding blessings, is one that I think is key in a biblical friendship. In the course the conversation with my friend, I mentioned something she was doing that really inspired me, and after a moments pause, she said that she had done it because of me, and something that I was doing. I have thought about that part of our conversation alot since, and I have realized that a biblical friend grows with you and holds you up. When I took karate, one of the things we learned was how to get out of different situations, and one was if you and a friend were bound together on the floor you could use each other to get up. So when we would practice, another girl and I would sit back to back and link arms, then pushing against each other for support, we would gradually rise from the floor to a standing position, from which escape was made easier. Just as without her weight against my back, I wouldn't have made it off the ground, so in friendships, if I don't have someone leaning on and supporting me, it will be much harder to get off the ground spiritually. Also, as we were talking, I shared with her some things I was struggling with and some concerns that were on my heart. After she listened, she shared with me her perspective, and I was blown away by the wisdom in her replies. In fact, I'm still pondering some of the incredible things that she said. And lastly, I think the best blessing is knowing that your not alone, knowing that there is someone else to lean on when you don't know what to do, someone else that is on your side, someone else that knows you. And I believe that this is exactly what God had planned when He gave us friends.