What does a good friend look like? God has some excellent advice for us as we seek to make and be good friends. Find out more here.
Story:
Hermione Granger—female friend in Harry Potter. Hermione Granger is the daughter of two normal humans and yet was born with the gift of magical abilities. Her work ethic is impeccable and she is adamant about not wasting the opportunity that Hogwarts has provided her. Because of her determination to see her personal goals through, she has very little tolerance for Harry Potter’s ideas. Throughout their time at school Harry found himself at odds with Lord Voldemort and needed his friends Ron and Hermione to help him solve his problems. Often the solutions to his problems involved breaking the school rules—things like sneaking out after curfew, breaking into a professors office, trespassing in forbidden wings of the castle, and much more. Hermione disapproves of Harry and Ron’s plans to disobey the teachers and school rules.
She believes that they should work within the system and trust those in authority. Time and again Hermione will slam her book shut, rapidly tell the two boys that they are being irresponsible idiots, and storm off to study alone in the Library. These fits of intolerance constantly frustrate Ron, but it forces Harry to reevaluate his plan of action, and, more often than not, he changes something to try and make it less risky. The ability to hold to her beliefs and insist on responsible planning makes Hermione shine as an example of a good friend. Her integrity matches her loyalty. She risks losing her friends by refusing to help them but as a result influences them to be better people. Hermione, in many ways, leads a life of example. She believes in herself, works diligently to attain her dreams, holds to her word, exhibits loyalty and empathy, calls her friends to accountability and always forgives. Now that’s a good friend!
Bible Intro:
Lots of people have heard the story of David and Goliath. It’s usually used as an inspirational, classic underdog story because of the little kid (David) meeting the big giant (Goliath) and bringing him to his knees (literally) with a slingshot and a few stones. What happens right after this event is not known to most people, but it’s the focus of our look into ‘good friends’ because it is where David and Jonathan meet (Jonathan is King Saul’s son, and David has just been a shepherd boy—but has been tapped to be the next king!) Check out this story of friendship from 1 Samuel as they chronicle what a good friend looks like. It’s a bit long, but has all the drama of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:55–20:42
Personal Questions:
- After reading through these different Bible stories and sayings about good friends, what are some qualities or actions that jump out to you when it comes to identifying what a good friend looks like?
- How do you think being a military brat and moving around a lot affects any of those character qualities or actions?
Continue interacting with this topic here.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you have given us many examples of true friendships, and you were the best example of a true friend. Making really good friends on a military base can be hard. Help me first to develop character qualities of a good friend and then to put into action things like truthfulness and standing up for my friends. And I ask that you bring good friends into my life as I move and they move so often. Let me figure out who to invest in by using these qualities of a good friend as my guide. Amen.
