Two are better than one..For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
For those of you who have had the sure pleasure of reading The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan, the main character, Christian, is blessed with two friends on his journey to the Celestial City: Faithful and Hopeful. At one point in the story, Christian and Hopeful are captured by Giant Despair and locked away in Doubting Castle… follow me on this journey… The symbolic names give wise counsel. Faith and hope are key companions when we encounter the twin destroyers of doubt and despair–especially in these desperate days of economic uncertainty, natural disasters, and international conflict.
So, Bunyan’s allegory (if I can recall), of the believer’s struggle through life on the way toward heaven painfully illustrates the difficult journey we face. But the life changing lesson of faith and hope through Christian’s traveling companions reminds believers of another important truth: we need friends along life’s path to pick us up when we fall, encouraging us to keep on keeping on.
No burden is too great to carry with the heavenly promise of our Lord (John14:1-2), and encouraging friends who help turn our despair into joy and our doubt into a stronger faith and a hope. Take a look around your path today. There is probably someone not too far from you who needs your encouragement.
Cooperating with others has advantages. Life’s designed for companionship, not isolation. For intimacy, not loneliness. Some people prefer isolation, thinking they cannot trust anyone. We are not here on earth to serve ourselves, however, but to serve God and others. We were never meant to go through this journey of life alone. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). God did not make us to live alone (Genesis 2:18): He created us to live in community with one another.
Be Encouraged Today!
A wise person once said…A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.
