Believing Friends

Our family was becoming ever more established in love and friendship. There is nothing more joyful in a vain earthly life than to have at home a dear friend who loves you likewise and, in the spiritual sense, understands everything just as you do. All our disagreements came to a common denominator, and in everything we managed to find points of contact, removing what divides and discussing what would be for our good.

We agreed to be glued to each other with a special Heavenly glue called “Love and Friendship.” And this agreement helped us to take an exceptionally right position toward one another. Although there were moments when someone or something tried to separate us, the Lord pointed out our problems in time, and we again pressed very, very close to each other to become one flesh according to the commandment.

But we had friends who came into our life of their own free will, and whom we ourselves acquired, showing them unchanging friendliness.

Contact with new people whom you wish to make friends always brings with it a freshness of relations. And you so want to plunge deep, deep into an open heart and rejoice over a new friend—this next gift from the Lord.

Although my wife and I were open to everyone, over time we began to notice that not all are like us. Each brother or sister has their own notions of friendship, and there are their own invisible boundaries beyond which you are not allowed. Sometimes they are set rather delicately, and at times they resemble an impregnable iceberg that lives by itself.

But we understand that the Lord has called us to love, and we first embodied this love in our life and tasted how good the Lord is in it, and then decided to gift it to everyone around and, like the sun, shine on both the good and the evil. We noticed that, within our family, in our love and friendliness we memorize our model of behavior and relations, and then we very easily manifest the same spirit toward other people. We gave each other special intimate names that sound in personal fellowship, expressing tenderness and our belonging to each other, but we try not to bring this out among people, because some begin to laugh at it, showing their ignorance.

In fellowship with the brethren we are always open and good-natured, and this is naturally reflected in our life.

When, before the wedding, I presented my friend to the church as a candidate to become my other half, many brothers and sisters showed a lively interest in our friendship and wanted to have closer fellowship with us. And we, in the simplicity of our hearts, received everyone, sharing what the Lord was giving us.

Usually every Sabbath someone came either to visit us, or invited us to themselves. And even when we wanted to be alone together, there always appeared a person who wished to share with us their presence. We did not oppose this, because we understood that in society one can make very many discoveries—both about oneself and about each other.

At first we considered that all believing people are the same and should adhere to one model of behavior; but, fellowshipping with the brethren, we understood that we are all different, and each of us is unique, needing a special approach. Over time we involuntarily divided all our acquaintances into different social groups that were very different from one another in spirit and interests. Some loved to criticize ideas, and some—people; some liked to speak of spiritual things, and some—of worldly things; some came only to eat, and some desired fellowship with us; some loved to talk about themselves, and some were interested in our relations and heeded what we told about ourselves; some were satisfied with everything, and some found problems in everything; some wished to have everyone as friends, and some created family clans into which you were not admitted.

Not knowing many people personally, we learned details of their life from carriers who tried to create an image for each person and offered us to accept it. But we were taught to get to know a person personally and to form his image thanks to our direct contact with him. This protected us from many disappointments and perplexities. We also found out that bad rumors were going around about us, and we were being credited with things to which we were not connected. Once even the pastor himself came to visit us in order personally to check the rumors about us and to be convinced of their veracity. We understood that the environment of GOD’s people is not without hidden rocks, and one must be vigilant and cautious.

We did not want to prove anything to anyone or to find out who was slandering and what. We were especially amused by the unusual approach in communication when something was told to us with the request to tell no one that it had been passed on to us. In a word, there was no time to be bored.

At the very beginning of such fellowship my future wife and I caught the same spirit and together “gossiped” about those of whom we received information. But the Lord strictly reproved us through the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, and we became more attentive to our behavior and to the conversations of others. It was very easy to slide into the ditch of gossip, but it strongly affected our friendship, and we decided not to discuss anyone in any way, but to pray for those about whom evil was spoken. Practicing such an approach, we sifted out an alien spirit from our environment and drew to ourselves those who loved to live and walk in the light.

Our friendliness and hospitality were known to all, but not all wished to be our friends. There were also those who politely greeted us, but did not let us come near, and were not interested in us.

Knowing that the church is more a hospital than a club of interests, we tried to minister with our gifts to people to whom we could and to whom it was necessary. And someone ministered to us.

Also, men and women came into our family with whom we accidentally became acquainted, in order subsequently to acquaint them with CHRIST. Sometimes we said nothing about GOD, but simply loved those whom the Lord sent us, and these people themselves asked what we believed. And when we spoke about our hope in GOD, someone called us sectarians and closed up, and someone wished to know more about what had so changed our life. If these people had a living interest in spiritual changes, we passed them on and then led them with the whole church, where each could minister with his gift, and someone did nothing. And we love everyone.

How joyful it was to be present at the baptism of people whom you somehow helped to know the Truth, as a result of which that person entered into covenant with GOD and became your brother or sister in CHRIST.

Over time we realized that our church is a living organism where each is occupied with his own work, but many of us have a common goal toward which we all go together, serving one another as each can and knows how. There are different people in the church, and the larger it is, the more problems we have in relations. But we also noticed that the message to Laodicea unites many different people in one spirit of love, which dominates in relations and helps to grow and develop spiritually quickly. Not everyone understands what it is to love one another, but he who steps onto this path has the same blessings that we experience in our life. And we recognize one another by the spirit of love between us.

1. Please read Ps. 133:1; Acts 2:44–47; 4:32–35; Rom. 12:9–10; 14:1–26; Lev. 19:16–18; Prov. 11:13; 20:19; Matt. 7:1–5; John 13:34–35; 1 Pet. 1:22 in light of this lesson.

2. What did you understand from this topic?

3. What other Bible verses came to your memory?

4. Is the church you attend ideal?

5. Is it worth understanding that the teaching in your church must be Biblical, while people may be different?

6. Did JESUS warn that not all among believers would have the right spirit?

7. What does the Lord expect of me when I join His Church?

8. Should one leave the congregation if wrong people appear in it?

9. How much time, do you think, does a sinful person need in order to become righteous and holy?

10. What is the Church of CHRIST, and Who is its Head?

11. Why does the Lord place all who believe in Him into His Church?

12. Do you have friends from your church?

13. What unites GOD’s people, and what divides them?

14. For what does GOD need the Church?

15. How can one distinguish the true church from the false?