“To the Ancients, friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it.” – C. S. Lewis

Is this true? Are we ignoring friendship? Have we forgotten what friendship is all together? One study shows that in 1985 the average American had about three friends, defined as people whom we can confide in, people with whom we share the most important things in life. But by 2004, just nineteen years later, the average American only had two close friends, and one in four had no one this close at all. What efforts need to be made to recover friendship?

We are made for friendships, but It’s Complicated. Sin has corrupted our friendships. To be a sinner means living with the regular possibility that our friendships will suffer from our (and others’) selfishness, inattention, busyness, anger, pride, self-righteousness, fear, and laziness. Sin may do real and regular damage to our friendships, but our love for Christ and each other means we continually seek repair.

Only when we’re made whole in Christ can we enjoy genuinely healthy friendships with others because only then will we desire to give love as much as we want to receive it since we’ve already been satisfied by the God who created love. It’s Complicated, but Jesus changes everything.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 3 - Friendships - 2.28.21