Friends. We all have them. We have good friends and not so good friends. We have online “friends” and real-life friends. I have often said, “show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” See, we often think about and talk about how our friendships affect us, or the impact that our friendships have on our lives. We rarely, if ever, stop and think about the effect that our friendships might be having on other people.

It is never easy to be reminded of the things that we struggle with, but sometimes it is necessary. Remember, the goal is not to beat ourselves up or get roped into the “poor little me” game, the goal is to recognize the things that we struggle with and lay them at God’s feet.

Would you say that you are a disciple of Jesus? If I were to ask you what makes someone a disciple of Jesus, what would you say? Would others use the phrase “disciple of Jesus” to describe you? Why or why not? Would you like to be described this way?

How much time would you say that you spend scrolling through social media each day? How many times do you ooh and ahh over your social media “friends” seemingly perfect lives each day? We ooh and ahh over their amazing vacation pictures. We see how well they are doing with their new healthy eating and exercise habits. We like and comment on their new houses and new cars. We think to ourselves, “Wow, what amazing lives they live.” Sometimes we even wish and pray for lives more like theirs. But do we really know them?