(This was originally posted on June 24, 2019)
Men need to embrace the fact that we are created for friendships. If we are to fulfill our design and purpose, we have to make room for friends. The problem is that many men have the wrong idea of what friendship looks like.
We will discuss what biblical friendship should look like in upcoming blog posts, but for this post, I will share two biblical principles that show that we are designed for companionship.
First, the fact that we are created in God’s image shows that we are created for friendship. Genesis 1:26 states, "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….” Did you notice the personal pronouns God used there? Us….our. Those are plural pronouns.
God has eternally existed in the Trinity and therefore, has enjoyed a community for eternity. When he created man, he created Adam in his image – hardwired for community. The need for friendship is in our DNA.
Secondly, after God created Adam, he explicitly said that it was not good for him to be alone. Therefore, sin was not the first problem in human history, it was solitude. And God immediately set out to remedy the problem with the creation of Eve.
I appreciate what Tim Keller had to say about Adam’s loneliness:
Adam was not lonely because he was imperfect, but because he was perfect. The ache for friends is the one ache that is not the result of sin…This is one ache that is part of his perfection…God made us in such a way that we cannot enjoy paradise without friends. God made us in such a way that we cannot enjoy our joy without human friends.[1]
God made us for friendships. Are you a friend? Do you prioritize friendships?
[1]Tim Keller, “Spiritual Friendship” (sermon, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Mark 1, 1998), http://www.gospelinlife.com/spiriutal-friendship-6608.