"It’s So Complicated"
EPISODE 208
Establish Trust and Openness
How are fickle companions like imaginary friends? In session six of our friendship study, we explore how trust, loyalty, and honesty change our interactions. One of the gifts of friendship is knowing someone has your back and feeling safe to share what’s really happening in your life. So this week we dig into Four Proverbs on dependable friends, learning how gossip makes us clam up and how someone’s investment in you makes you want to hear their counsel. We also look to Jesus, the perfect friend, and hear how he redefines the word. Check out the study guides and videos at biblegeeks.fm/twobytwo.
Takeaways
The Big Idea: A true friend is someone you can count on.
This Week's Challenge: Tell someone, "Thank you for being a friend."
Episode Transcription
It's so complicated living in relationships with people and Absolutely, we're not meant to be alone, but sometimes it would be easier Hello everyone and welcome to the Bible Geeks podcast this is episode 208. I'm Bryan Schiele. I'm Ryan Joy and thanks so much everyone for tuning in We are in session six of our two by two guided study We've been talking a little bit on the last couple of conversations about creating a circle of safety Really making sure that we are fostering closeness Vulnerability openness in our relationships with each other and today we're gonna carry on that conversation talking about safe Spaces friendship is really all about having a place where you can let your hair down So to speak and you can just be yourself and be open and you don't have to be guarded And I think that's one of the great marks of a good friendship Yeah, definitely I mean you you know that you can rely on them that they have your back that they are thinking Well of you and that you can like you say you can open up to them You can ask them for help and not feel like you know, you're burdening them beyond You know the limits of the relationship So, I mean it's just so important to have those kind of people because none of us can make it on our own Absolutely, and speaking of other people who couldn't make it on our own We're gonna talk about a few old friends in our conversation starter that we're gonna get into here and that one we called blanches and roses This is two by two Blanches and roses few songs get stuck in my head like the theme from NBC's hit sitcom the golden girls Humming that familiar tune. It's easy to pause and remember those blanches and roses in my own life They're the ones I can confidently say thank you for being a friend travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true You're a pal and a confidant like those fictional friends We may have real differences and sometimes even get on each other's nerves But true and trustworthy friendships ones built on trust and openness never get old So here's the big idea a true friend is someone you can count on of course No conversation about trustworthy friends would be complete without thinking of our greatest friend Jesus He highlighted his extreme love for us when he said greater love has no one than this That someone laid down his life or his friends, but Jesus wasn't just trying to toot his horn He went on to say these things I command you so that you will love one another John 15 verse 17 the point Jesus wants us to model our love for people after his Unfailing and steadfast love for us the Proverbs often speak about the importance of being count on a bull people of our word If we want meaningful relationships unless we're guided by integrity our relationships are doomed to fall apart If we're not trustworthy when there's something to be kept in confidence, who's gonna want to open up to us? Relationships can't thrive if we're tail bears gossips liars or deceivers It's a high standard and sadly even the closest friends go through tough times But as Jesus was able to reconcile with Peter after his betrayal Love leads us to work things out and move on through grace and mercy So maybe it's time to write a card or tell someone thank you for being a friend So here's the big question. Can your circle of friends rely on you? So follow along with this guided study of biblegeeks.fm/twobytwo and may the Lord bless you and keep you to me Shalom Okay, your hook cracked me up there. We're really targeting the octogenarian female audience with this show Our big idea there was a true friend is someone you can count on and it makes me think of the people that I've been friends With already for decades and I hope to be someday like senile old man friends with like I'm seeing you and me You know, this is the Bible geeks. What do you want? You know a bunch of grumpy old guys Apparently we're gonna be the balcony guys from the Muppets That would be that would be fun. So, you know, I'm looking forward to that and surprisingly those steady Reliable friendships that just are for the long haul often take less maintenance Than the newer more surface relationships and yet they're the ones that you turn to for help and for advice and everything It's like you you're not worried. Oh, I didn't you know, I better do something to make sure they know I care I haven't talked to them in a week and you know, it's not like that. It's you know, these are solid Yeah, and yet they're the ones that because they're so solid They're the ones you know you turn to you go So quickly with those friendships from small talk to real talk at any point that it's needed and I'm not saying neglect those friendships But it's just it just doesn't take much because you have such such stability and such mutual understanding and commitment and you know, it's amazing how Many of those we can have in the Lord. I mean, you know, there's there's this overlap that we haven't talked a lot about but between you know family brotherhood fellowship and friendship and As you move from one into this kind of smaller thing of close friendship with Those in Christ, I mean it is it's just a tremendous thing So good picture to start with comparing us to senior citizens in retirement home. What about the big question? So the big question we asked there was can your circle of friends rely on you and you used a word there just to minute ago you talked about stability and Being steady being reliable being count on a bull as we talked about in that conversation starter Is such a huge thing right because you need to know that your friends are there for you and can people rely on you? Can they count on you when you know things are? needed when your time is needed and that's just such a challenging thing because For all of us that's gonna look different for every relationship that we have right being reliable being count on a bull might look very different between you and me for example or Between me and some of my friends who I'm really close to here our relationship might look very different from all the ones around But in all of them I think there's this thread of being reliable and count on a bull and can somebody really Count on the fact that hey, I'm gonna be there for them if they need me for whatever reason So that actually kind of leads to our icebreaker because there's something that we often ask each other That I think feeds into this light-hearted question Absolutely a way for your friends to rely on you Bryan Would you rather help a friend move or pick them up at the airport at midnight? Obviously helping somebody move is the harder one, you know getting up and just drive into the airport It's not as big of a deal. But man, I do really like the Tetris game of Moving truck, you know, I love the challenge. I love getting to rifle through people's stuff you Know I feel like just aside from all that spatial configuration all that itch that it scratches for me I really do like just kind of spending the day and Getting to know people and getting to talk to people as you rifle through their stuff and organize it into a truck So that's probably the one that I'm gonna pick if I had to what about you? I do agree with you there I mean, I've had some really fun moving days I remember one moving day out there in Phoenix with some friends It was on NFL draft day and I remember like me and Austin and Chad just a bunch of different friends Just you know tuning in as we go from the first house to the second house you check in the radio and then you know There's a lot of fun to be had on moving days, but I'm gonna go the other way I'm gonna go with the airport at midnight which involves some of my favorite things like late-night driving and Probably a little bit of conversation with a friend, you know Just you know, how's your trip and then talking on the way home and like you said it is also the easier choice Yeah, and I think even in both of those situations, it's that's not a huge commitment But on the other hand, I feel like it's difficult for me to ask that of people, you know If somebody asks it of me game on right? That's awesome. I'm gonna totally help out. But yep There's something weird in with deep within my soul about asking people, you know to commit their time and energy for things like that So, you know all uber or like hire a moving company before now, maybe I'll ask a friend But I do really like that question. I think it's helpful to loop people in on your life that way I think there's something to what you're talking about Maybe we get into that in the reach out question because I think it's harder to ask. Yes than it is to do It's easy to do that for someone but you don't want to be especially the pick you up for some reason You know, you can't move alone, but you feel like you can find a way to I guess you could hire a moving company but you can find a way to get get home and anyway, I think there's something to that but Let's move on from that into our next segment Which is Jesus said Jesus said some really cool things and in John 15 verses 12 to 16 Jesus has a very clear connection between His love for us and the love he expects for us to have towards others and we talked about that in that conversation starter a little bit but he says this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you and Then he lays the gauntlet down he says greater love has no one than this that someone laid down his life for his friends and You know what? He's talking about there. He doesn't even have to say it like you understand He's laying down his life for his friends and he loves us so much But then he goes on to say you're my friends if you do what I command you so he's expecting his followers to listen and obey him if we're to have this close and loving relationship and then he wipes away the old expectations of a Servant and master relationship and he says I have called you friends for all that I've heard from my father I've made known to you and then he goes on to talk about how We are going to be given all the things that God wants to give us if we simply ask and then he says at the very end of this in verse 17 these things I command you so that you will love one another there's a lot here to be said about stability and Friendship and love so what do you find here from Jesus words about friendship? Yeah, I wanted the quintessential verses where Jesus Says something about doing exactly what he does And so his demonstration of love and friendship in the middle of the passage is Uncantied by this instruction for us to love each other, you know at the beginning in the end But I think it also gives this helpful reflection on the meaning of friendship Through this lens of Jesus and his disciples, which I think ultimately includes us There's maybe some things that are specific to that relationship But this is about Jesus and his people and I don't think I had really thought about that before this series and a lesson I did earlier this year about how Jesus really gives us some clarity Elevating friendship and defining friendship for Christians kind of like he does Define what love means for us in a passage like this And so what do we get from it about friendship? Well friends stand together with a mutuality mutual love and trust when Jesus elevates his disciples from Simple servants to friends. He isn't declaring them equal, but he does call them to Sinality with him, you know, he wants us to do like he does in verse 12 and he expects friends to be trustworthy and Faithful in everything that he asked them to do So he says you're my friends if you keep my commandments and you can make your thoughts known to friends And so he has shared what God has done. He hasn't kept them in the dark And so they're not servants anymore not just servants anyways, of course, we're his servants But also they are friends and you sacrifice for friends So he foreshadows his death for his friends and man that's all in four verses There's a lot packaged up here in friendship I'm surprised we've we've kind of alluded to this but we haven't dove into it for six lessons here So it's a pretty important moment for us to get what Jesus considers Friendship and how he shows up for friends and wants us to show up for others I think that's what I was taking from this to how he shows up and expects us to do the same like that Demonstration on his part. Okay, I'm going to model for you all what real friendship and love is like And then you you need to follow my example And that's what I take from this So so much is like you see his statements about friendship are really pointing to himself and saying look at me look what I'm doing for you so that you can then turn around and do that for other people and I love that. He's holding nothing back from his disciples here, right? He's he's he's putting it all out there He's saying I'm giving you everything I can and he's also saying look I'm not keeping anything a secret from you Jesus is telling us everything that the father has told him when he says all I've heard from my father I have made known to you there's a transparency to Jesus that shows up in how much he's opening up to us and I think of safe spaces and I think of Relationships built on this trust and that's what Jesus is doing here He's showing up in this relationship laying it all out on the table making sure everybody's aware of what's going on And he's not like holding a piece of himself back He's giving everything and he's opening up about everything and I don't know that's what love is, right? Like when you think about a marriage and I don't know we go back and forth talking about marriage and these conversations about friendships But I think it's really apt if you think about a marriage how long is that really gonna last if you're holding back a part of yourself Or you're keeping a part of yourself away from that relationship I think what we see here in John 15 is that Jesus isn't holding anything back from us and is my openness is my willingness to communicate like Jesus did a feature of my friendships like it was a feature of Jesus Loving relationships that he had with his disciples and it's just a helpful reminder for me Not only in my marriage, but most especially I think even in all these other Relationships like with my close friends Yeah, that's a really interesting theme that you're hitting on there and I'd never put it together quite like that Jesus isn't revealing everything to everyone, you know, there's that secrecy theme Yeah in the book of Mark where you know He's just sort of waiting until it's time and he's piecing little pieces out there and yes so easily misunderstood and all of the Gospels, you know, and so he's not guarded to protect himself But he's strategic and what he's doing But then you get to a passage like this at the end of his life and he's sharing So much with the disciples and says look I've laid it out here on the line You're not just servants who you know I you know, I'll tell you what you need to know if I think you need to know something. I'll let you know go away I've got bigger things to think about no he is poured it out. He has said here's here It is all on the table what I'm trying to do who you are who I am and You know, maybe more than they could really even handle but he has been like you say Transparent so far as they could you know have it communicated to them and Jesus associates that transparency with friendship. This is why I call you friends now there that is a level of vulnerability a level of honesty and intimacy and Openness that really changes a dynamic Yeah if you think about Jesus creating anything with those disciples a Safe space for them to be and to learn and to grow like they were doing is definitely what he was doing for them So let's move on here to our second segment on the episode and that is top four Proverbs All right, so our first proverb proverb number one here is actually two Proverbs In fact, I'm gonna do two pairs of Proverbs that are meant to go together I think and so it's Proverbs 20 verses 5 to 6 and these are four Proverbs on trustworthy friends and This first one says the purpose in a man's heart is like deep water But a man of understanding will draw it out many a man proclaims his own steadfast love but a faithful man who can find and there's a song that I like, you know, we quoted the theme song from Golden Girls, but There's maybe the greatest song on friendship ever But there's another song about friendship that I really like by Ron sex Smith a singer songwriter And he calls it imaginary friends and he says Imaginary friends they will always let you down and when all the good times end you won't be seeing them around for they run Where the action is and then they'll cross you off their list Do you comprehend now to imaginary friends you don't exist and then he says second verse is they'll ask you where you've been But never wait for your reply They'll meet you when your ship comes in but never meet you eye to eye as all the friends who've been real and true Wonder who you're talking to one thing you can depend on imaginary friends. They can't see you and that kind of summarizes in some ways Both are the proverbs. Yeah, all of the proverbs I'm gonna talk about probably the ones you're gonna talk about but this set of two proverbs both Contrast the majority of people with that rare wise loyal person that you know when you find one of these people you treasure them in your lives and There are those people who keep their cards so close to their vest, you know those people Do you just never know what they're after and so, you know the proverb writer here says many people's aims are like deep waters and deep water That's no. No. Thank you, sir. I do not like water deep water. That's yeah, they're hidden from you They're maybe even hidden from themselves and deep water is is mysterious and dangerous It's a bit unsettling Bryan doesn't want to go in the deep water, you know thinking of of people in in Israel They you know, they don't want to go out where the dangerous seas are every time you see somebody out in the sea They're getting thrown about swallowed by a big fish, you know all kinds of things happening and so, you know He's saying we don't you don't know what's going on with a lot of people and their hearts and their purposes are so deep but at the same time a man of understanding will draw it out and a lot of people proclaim their own steadfast love but a faithful man who can find so again There's this one person that's not like most people and you know A lot of people will say how steady they are They think of themselves as really devoted to their friends devoted to other people steadfast in their love But a lot of us have found people to be talk and not a true friend and real friends versus imaginary friends you always find out eventually and so You know, I think that's a really interesting thought provoking pair of proverbs about this idea of friendship and reliability And what are people really after and can you count on and trust what they're saying? They are well you find out I think when we talked about the big idea from that conversation starter a true friend is someone you can count on That's exactly what this proverb is talking about, you know, the fact that you've got this Real true friend and when we were putting this together We really were very careful about the wording there because you know It's not like your best friend or just your you know acquaintance or whatever like it's a true friend It's a friend who who you know, they're real, you know, they're gonna show up for you very different Like you said from this imaginary friend that I think we probably have all met from time to time So my second proverb is proverbs 11 verses 1 and 3 I'm also gonna do two kind of pairs, but they're separated by a verse So Proverbs 11 verses 1 and 3 it says a false balance is an abomination to the Lord But a just weight is his delight the integrity of the upright guides them But the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them and it made me think here when I was reading this a false balance is an Abomination to the Lord you ever go to the doctor and they're like, okay stand on the scale We need to get your weight and I'm like every single time that happens. I'm like, wait a second Should I like strip down to my underwear like? You know This is not gonna be a correct weight, right? If you're weighing my clothes and my shoes and my phone in my pocket and everything like that Like it kind of bothers me that like this isn't accurate like this isn't actually how much I weigh it isn't reality and I hate the idea of going into the doctor and getting a false reading and this idea of Justice and honesty when we're building relationships This is way more serious than going to the doctor and standing on the scale It is making sure that what we say is what we do is what we believe all the way down to our core We're genuine. We are people of integrity. We're people of our word. We are judging things accurately and rightly We have proper motivations behind when we judge this situation or that situation And yeah I just think about the idea of being honest being true being somebody who is consistently fair and reasonable That is gonna build trust and it's gonna build a certain amount of safety for everyone involved in a relationship And if I'm not that way, then I'm gonna live in this crooked false Skewed idea of what reality really is and I don't think anyone feels comfortable around people who are just not Viewing the situation with honesty and integrity. Yeah, that's such a great verse and those two words Integrity and crookedness. Those are heavy words in the Hebrew, right? Those are the idea of wholeness and completeness in the integrity impurity as opposed to this idea of twisting and Converting in that idea of crookedness. I mean there's so much to understand about righteousness and sin and about trustworthiness and and Deceit and all of those aspects. So that's a really powerful picture My next pair of Proverbs number three comes from chapter 27 of Proverbs verses 9 and 10 And it says oil and perfume make the heart glad and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel do not forsake your friend or your father's friend and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your Calamity better as a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away So obviously there's a lot there and oil and incense don't mean as much to me as they probably did to those who originally Heard this proverb but you know There are smells that make me happy make me feel at home and cared for like those smells and that's really the idea They might the ones for me usually involve food, but we'll move on from that and so Bruce Waltke there's a Hebrew scholar I like and his Nikot Commentaries on Proverbs I think are excellent and he explains the phrase earnest counsel as the sweetness of a friend Who gives passionate not? Disinterested counsel and sometimes you get what feels like throwaway advice from people not that it's bad But you don't have the sense that the person is invested like they're disinterested. They're not passionate They don't care that much but a good friend thinks with you about your problems like they're in it with you They'll stand with you there They're giving you counsel that is coming from not only their heart But from them plugging in to your life and really it matters and that's earnest counsel that comes from a friend And it's like it's like oil and incense it makes your heart glad and it's there's a sweetness to it as well The way the the Proverbs say it and then sometimes on the other hand we need help not just good counsel And that's the second part of this pair that when trouble comes Choose a reliable friend or a friend of the family who has been proven over two generations Instead of a relative this makes me think of course Proverbs 18 24 the friend who sticks closer than a brother Yep This is a friend who you can count on more than you can count on your siblings and your relatives and I think maybe these words near and far away imply Closeness in maybe more than just geography Otherwise, I don't think it's actually true that you know always your next-door neighbor is always closer and more reliable than a family member that lives far away, but there's a sense of a Metaphorical nearness as well, you know family matters, but not everyone you're related to Cares or has integrity that you can count on but you know The friends you can go to when the stakes get ratcheted up and when there's there's not a lot of room Sometimes in some moments of your life for someone to flake out on you and it to all be okay Like if somebody flakes out on picking you up at midnight, which I did have happen to me once from And you know, it was fine it didn't it wasn't a big deal, you know eventually I you know got a hold of somebody and they picked me up but if you know, the stakes are really high and You really need somebody to show up for you You want to make sure you have somebody that is a real friend you can count on You know the opposite of these kinds of people leads into my fourth proverb here Proverbs 26 Versus 20 and 22 I've sort of I guess picked off the negative sides of these things But you know, I think this is really helpful when he says for lack of wood The fire goes out and where there is no whisperer Quarrelings ceases the words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels they go down into the inner parts of the body and Mm-hmm. I don't think there is anything worse in a friendship than having gossiping and whispering and all of these kinds of things, you know, that's what this proverb is really highlighting here the fact is Gossiping and talking about people behind their back is only gonna lead to to fires It's only gonna stoke like kindling this Difficulty between people if somebody in this relationship is a tail bear and so when we're talking about integrity and trustworthiness and Honesty and all these things the opposite of that for me is somebody who is they're not somebody I can confide in They're not somebody who I trust to hold something between just us they're the kind of person who's gonna go off and they're going to you know, dangle juicy morsels in front of other people and Gossip about things and I don't know. I just have such a hard time with this Personally and for me one of the biggest tells whether or not I'm gonna actually open up and share with somebody is if Somebody has come up to me and told me something about someone else That's the kind of person I am never gonna open up to I know that this person likes to gossip and if they're doing it about other people They are most definitely gonna be doing it about me at some point if I open up to them so it's just one of these things that is kind of a warning sign or kind of a Something we need to avoid in our close relationships Be count honorable be people of integrity and honesty and trustworthiness When people share things with us and open up because we're creating a safe space where people can confess their trespasses And they can tell us what's going on in a genuine and honest way It's never gonna happen if we're the kind of people who talk about these things with other people out of confidence Absolutely, that's that's not safety. That's a guess what I heard I'm in the know, you know, that's it comes from a kind of yeah desperation maybe to be relevant or something that is not is not Prioritizing a friend first and foremost. So that's a great one to round us out there So those are four proverbs on integrity and trustworthiness. Let us move on to our last segment here on the episode And that is our reach out question So Ryan, what do you learn from a time when someone had your back? Is there probably a time in your life where someone was in your corner? What do you learn from that? Oh man, so many times over and over again more than more than I would have any right to expect And it has made a tremendous impact on me I think as I think about a lesson learned from those times It brings me back to what you were saying about asking for a ride from the airport that you don't want to do it I grew up not wanting to Rely on others too much not to ask for anything not wanting to put someone in a position to have to have my back You know, like like we don't do that. We serve people. We're not served. That's not who we are and so I think my biggest lesson has been confidence and comfort in getting help and learning that part of fellowship and friendship is the gift of supporting each other and letting others support me and believing in each other and having others have confidence in me and helping each other in times of need and receiving help and so we've talked about that idea of It's more blessed to give than to receive but you know, don't hoard that gift of giving either but there's the sense of of security, I mean we're talking about safe spaces and there's a sense of confidence and security that starts to develop whenever you realize that lots of people have your back and lots of people love you and I mean It's more like the action comes from this is a being doing question like we always talk about but the action comes from Their heart and from the the being of they really care about me They really see me as somebody worth looking out for worth, you know standing with and That is the true gift and then you know getting some help when you need it is like almost a bonus So yeah, that's my big lesson. I guess is it's good It's okay to get help and you can be confident and comfortable that it doesn't strain your relationship Beyond you know beyond the boundaries. It's safe to get that help. I feel like I'm just you know listening to younger Ryan at the feet of Glenn and Nancy listening to you, you know all of that because that's exactly how your dad was I mean for sure and I know your mom's that way too and it's all well intentioned for sure and I can totally connect with It on so many levels, but it's like we are not the ones who you know Allow people to help us we help other people and when you view Your role so much as the servant of other people being served. It's a lot like Peter, right? It's a lot like, you know Peter looking to Jesus saying no, no, no You don't wash my feet. That's not how this relationship goes, right? It's like no no, you gotta you gotta see that there's a time for you to experience that Blessing that other people will give to you if you if you allow them that time to do it And I don't know I struggle with that too even myself. It's like yeah You got to just open up and let people feel comfortable stepping in and helping you and that's not weakness on your part But the struggle is real man Yeah, when I was thinking about this question, what do you learn from a time when someone hide your back? I feel like I am the kind of person who Struggles sometimes to find an advocate like I'm looking for people who are gonna be in my corner who are gonna understand What's going on? And you know a lot of times with some of the work that I do with some of the projects that I take on few people really kind of grok it like an Entirely of what I actually do or how much time things take or you know for me a lot of times people will look at me They're like, oh, yeah, that won't take him very long. It's just an easy part of the process He's just gonna go off and do that and it'll be done and it'll be great and it'll be perfect and whatever and it's like you know, there's some times where it's like things take a long time a lot of tedious effort a lot of late nights and not often people see that and for me sometimes I feel like there are few people who are gonna stand up in my corner and stand up and advocate for me and there have been a few Times where I've had people who really understand like what's going on and they've stood up and they've said no you guys don't understand This took a really long time and you know, those are the kinds of people who I just want to be like Hey, is it okay if I hug you right now? So you really appreciate when somebody sees you and I think that's really that's like a common thread through this conversation Right when somebody really sees you they acknowledge you they understand what's going on. It's almost like Barnabas in a way They totally are encouraging to you. They've got your back They're standing up for you. And I think the big lesson I've taken away from people like that is just how much it's Important for me to do that for other people to step in for others like when can I use an opportunity to Speak up for a friend to step in and to advocate for my friends you know, it's so easy to throw people under the bus or It's easy to like go along with the crowd and it's super easy just to stay quiet in situations and let people come to their Own conclusions, but the risky and the loving approach is to suck it up and to stick your neck out for a friend That is the challenging thing and for me, that's the big gauntlet throwdown in this part of the reach out It's like okay. Can I really step up and do that more for people? Can I be somebody's advocate? Can I be in their corner be their cheerleader be their champion? Whatever I need to be for them just to see people and to understand what they're going through It takes a lot of putting myself out of the equation and prioritizing other people's needs But man, I think that's what we saw from Jesus back there in John 15 for sure. I like that. That's a really good Practical. I mean, it's not like an easy Yeah, one two three just do this but it's a very practical thing that we can do to just take a second look at people and just you know Okay, look to the second the next level of yeah, but what's really going on with them? And you don't even have to ask a lot of times. It's just being tuned in It's like what we were talking about the earnest counsel and the person who has you know, you don't know what they want Yeah, and they're saying they're your friend really being invested and trying to plug in to How much work was that really for Bryan to do that or how what did it really what is really going on? I know you said you've got it covered and you're okay for this week but you know, I bet there's something that I could do or stand with you in some way or you know Help you to be encouraged and understood in some way. So I really like that This feels like a conversation that went really meta about our relationship and I was definitely not I just No, no, not at all. It's so it's so complicated living in relationships with people and Absolutely, we're not meant to be alone, but sometimes it would be easier. So let's move on to our next conversation here Our challenge for the week. I am ready to face any challenges that might be foolish enough to face me So listen, this is a simple one and it is based on our conversation starter. Tell someone this week Thank you for being a friend You know, maybe you can write them a card if they threw a party and invited everyone they knew Yeah for those who know that song it's gonna be stuck in their head and they'll remember this challenge I think this is just something that is nice to hear and it's nice to say, you know Just thank you is always meaningful, but it's particularly meaningful when it's about something so true There's some things that you start to say something simple But it's so real that you don't even realize until it gets caught in your throat as you're saying it, you know Thank you for being a friend, you know Oh that got weird. I was just gonna say something, you know Thanks man, but but I really mean it and so, you know and that is that comes through people know You know that it's real when you say something like, you know, thank you for always being there for me You know, that's something that is big and it's summarized in you know, six words So I think it's a great challenge. I do too take it on do it along with us this week and That rounds out our conversation here. And as we wrap this up, let's close with a closing prayer in the study guide on our website We have suggested a closing prayer and that is Holy Father Please bless us with strong bonds in our relationships with others stemming from our love for you and your son Jesus And that's all based on John 15 verses 1 to 17 that we talked about earlier So let's go to God in prayer our holy God What amazing blessings that you pour into our lives when we look around at all the close relationships we have around us These men and women that we can lean on to strengthen Comfort correct and support us we thank you so much for giving us such deep and meaningful friendships Hold us up to be the kinds of honest and trustworthy people of integrity We should be for them as they stand up and be those kinds of people for us Please bless us with stronger bonds in these relationships as we learn to love you and your son Jesus More and more help us to move past times of struggle and disappointment When we don't follow through with our intentions to be faithful friends show us how to extend grace and mercy Like you've extended to us and when we see an opportunity to step in and to advocate for our friends this week help us to Have the courage and love enough for them to act Please be with us Lord and we thank you for Jesus love that leads us always back to you these prayers and blessings We ask in his name. Amen. Amen Well next week we'll continue this two by two Conversation with session 7 talking about how we can sharpen and shape each other and you know This is obviously going back to that famous iron sharpening iron proverb But you know, that's one of the great things about friendship is being able to help support and challenge each other Yeah Oh the sharpening and shaping and the poking people in the eye and it's gonna be great after this conversation about creating a safe space So to prepare for that conversation we encourage you to read along with us mark chapter 10 verses 17 to 22 Proverbs 27 verse 17 and Hebrews 10 verse 24 Yeah, there's so much we could get into in that conversation about what friends are able to do for each other It's not just creating a warm fuzzy cushy environment in which we can all feel safe and sing kumbaya around the fire No, sometimes we got to get into the deep and challenging conversations and that will be what we do on our next episode So thanks so much everyone for tuning in to the Bible Geeks podcast You can find us on our website at biblegeeks.fm to find show notes for this episode in your podcast player of choice Or biblegeeks.fm/208 as always you can follow along with this guided study over at biblegeeks.fm/twobytwo and until next episode everyone may the Lord bless you and keep you shalom [MUSIC PLAYING]```