Easy as 1, 2, 3

"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:12

Recently, I have been taking my time getting through the book of Ecclesiastes. One night I got to this verse and just dwelled on it for a while. I took is as you are the one person...by yourself you can do nothing, you are easily overpowered by the devil and almost anyone else. The second person is God. With God by your side, "all things are possible." Now what about the third person? Basically I came to the conclusion that this verse is about having godly friendships and support. The third person is another Christian. I think that friends are possibly one of the most vital parts of someone's Christian walk. They serve as encouragement, accountability, and a person to "do life with" as I've heard it referred to before. Between the three of you, nothing will break your cord.

This verse took me back to this past summer. During the summer of 2010, I met some of my best friends. Some of these people are some of the best Christians I have ever met, and just some of the best people in general. I would trust almost any one of these people could be my third cord. This summer made me realize that the quality of your friendships with other Christians can make a major impact on your mental and emotional strength as well as how close your three cords become. When you pull on both ends of a rope, you find that all cords of the rope actually get closer together despite the fact that you are trying to pull them apart. You and your friend will get closer to each other and hopefully closer to God as well.

I also think this is why it is so important to have God as part of your relationships with people, especially when dating and in marriage. I have made the mistake once of pushing God out of a relationship, and that was the worst possible idea I could have had. It crumbled, failed, and was pretty miserable. I will not be making that mistake again, and I suggest you vow to do the same. Make it very clear from the start that you will have a three-person relationship, God, the other person, and then yourself. If both parties establish this and actually keep it up, you may find that there's no such thing as a "bad relationship" despite the ending result.

So the challenge for this blog is to examine your friendships and make sure your closest friends are those that are going to make your cord the strongest. In addition (and most importantly), make sure God is your second strand.