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Thursday: Widening Your Friendship Circle — 6 Comments

  1. This is my constant struggle. I was raised a fourth generation Adventist, went to Adventist schools from 1st through college, worked at an SDA camp and on campus in college, then worked in SDA schools as a teacher. I have no idea how to have healthy, wonderful friendships outside of the church. It is mostly the Sabbath issue; if events are all on Saturday, how do I respect the 4th commandment and have friendships?

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    • I sympathize with your plight, Jennifer. How do we reach a world with the gospel message from within a culture that seems focused on separating us from that world from the cradle on? It seems we either need to find answers that can work effectively within that context or if we cannot, we need to be questioning the context of Adventism.

      This dialogue is ongoing within the church, with some experimenting with new ways to reach across that cultural divide, and some others saying that we must pull back even further into a defensive withdrawal from engagement with the world. I worry about those who think that we already have all we need, and we should just cling to that and hang on for the Parousia. This seems to me to be too much like the Laodicean claim that they have need of nothing.

      I think it is not enough to simply cling to old and familiar practices. We also need the new. As Jesus said “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” Matthew 13:52, NIV

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  2. Can anyone tell me the answer of the last question 'Look at yourself: do you tend to be too insular, too remote from the world? Or, perhaps, are you too cozy with the world? How can you better learn to be in the world (and thus witness to others) and yet not be “of it”?'

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  3. May we seek the power and intervention of Our Heavenly Dad. Do we have to doubt Him? No. May He lead us thru. Let us ask for better friendships from Him. He is Happy when we are not trailing. Oh God lead us through. Amen.
    Have a happy Sabbath people. Amen.

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  4. This leson is too vague and does not give enough bibical supporting fact's. I have seen over my years many good seventh day adventist fall flat on their face by becoming to friendy with wordly people. Or say it's OK to adapt to there customs. The word friends is used to losly in this lesson study so far. We're loseing not adding to Jesus in the USA.

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  5. Wow, the honesty is great in the replies. Speaking as a mere first generation SDA who moved around 15 times before the age of 18, I am a little horrified, or amazed, can I say? Too friendly with worldly people? I think you meant they compromised their principles (of their own free will). That would be sinning; which all of us do from time to time. Christ was the perfect "SDA", yet ate with prostitutes and politicians. Try not to get hung up on a person's outward appearance and love them as a fallen human being, same starting point we all have. Love to you.

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