Friendship vs. Fellowship?

"One of the most beautiful qualities about true friendship is to understand and to be understood." ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Friendship has been on my mind a lot recently. So has fellowship. Some would argue, from a Christian perspective, that these two are very closely correlated and intertwined. However, something I've realized in the almost-two months of being a college student is that friendship and fellowship can be completely separate entities.

I'm going to be honest, transitioning from high school to college was a giant season of growth for me. I graduated with the optimistic mindset of getting myself plugged into a solid group of friends right away in my freshman year of college, only to discover that true relationships take time. A lot of time. It's so easy to open up, to be vulnerable when the moment calls for it, and to indulge and participate in a feel-good conversation with another person who sees eye-to-eye with you on a plethora of topics. In fact, it's wonderful. We were created for community. We were created for intimacy.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)

God doesn't desire for us to live alone, to do life alone. He knows what we need, and He so graciously provides it for us. Just as the human body is a working system made up of different parts that are vital to its synchronization, our faith too needs the same support and upholding of procedure to function well. There's nothing more powerful than a group of people who love Jesus coming together and seeing His love emanate from one another.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

It's so true how the friendships you surround yourself with eventually are the building blocks for your growth in personality and character. The Bible clearly states that one person affects and rubs off on the other, "sharpening" them, whether that is an implication for good or bad. Living in such close quarters in a college residence hall has great potential for these relationships to form, and it's imperative to find people who are rooted in Christ, and continually acting as a source of encouragement and love. These people will not only speak both truth and grace into your life, but will come to walk alongside you in your journey with Jesus.

I am slowly but surely realizing that friendship and fellowship can differ vastly, but are also capable of coexisting at the same time. I trust that the Lord is extremely provisional, and the plan He has set ahead of me is one that will be beyond even the greatest outcome I could imagine. This season demands crucial patience and waiting on God, as well as acceptance for the control that I am letting go and giving up to Him. It's definitely difficult to do, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.

Know that God loves you, with a fiery passion and a humble heart. Bask in the incredible knowledge of His sovereignty over every area of your life, that there's no part of you that He isn't aware of. Most of all, take that with you wherever you go. Be so filled with Jesus that you just can't help but feel compelled to share how joyful you are. It will show, I pinky promise you.

Blissful blessings,
Amy :)