READING: Ecclesiastes 1-6
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: As one who tends to be a loner, I need to hear these words from the book of Ecclesiastes today:
Ecc. 4:9-12 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
The writer speaks of the vanity of a person who is always alone, who works to gain riches, yet who has no one to leave his riches to when he dies (Ecc. 4:7-8). He lives for much “stuff,” be he shares life with no one. This life, the writer says, is futile.
God created us to be in relationship with others, and we deal with life together in the context of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:26). If we choose not to develop strong friendships, we miss the value of combined efforts, the power of companionship when struggling, the comfort of shared emotional strength in a cold world, and the strength of protection in numbers. In fact, if one friend makes us stronger, it is even better to have more than one (Ecc. 4:12).
PRAYER: I don’t want to miss all the benefits of having genuine Christian friends. Pray that I and others like me would (1) seek and appreciate God-given friendships and (2) not allow striving for “stuff” to get in the way of developing those relationships.
TOMORROW’S READING: Ecclesiastes 7-12
