Friends and Christian Brothers: Support, not Validation or Justification of Sin

You are better off to have a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, CEV

Going down this journey, for me, isn’t as easy as many. Most of my life, I’ve professed a screwed up doctrine of secularism within the existence of a God. By tearing down that Berlin wall, there’s a big rubble in where the wall once stood. Besides that, integrating my faith and my lifestyle, too, is a challenge.

Since a couple of weeks back, hanging out with Vincent Cheng has helped me a lot. As my mentor and friend, we talk about God and Christianity, business and entrepreneurship, training and money matters, God’s miracles in life, TV shows, books and movies, technology, software and gadgets. And a bit of Megan Fox. :-p

After I met Vincent, the other person whom I thank God for introducing into my life is [Rev’d.] Andrew Cheah, priest at St. Mary’s Anglican Cathedral,  who’s been kind enough to walk through the Bible with me. The process of learning, unlearning and relearning the Gospels and the Holy Scripture, Anglican Doctrine as well as moving closer to God and making God as relevant as possible are among the list of discussion.

And yesterday, I reconnected with a friend who I have not met in about nine (9) years or more: Wilson Tan. Despite the distance – he’s in Australia – our communication via MSN allows us to share experience and mutually support each other, while constantly reminding each other of Him.

Certainly, before I met all three, I must credit God for placing Syed Khairul Aswad in my circle of closest and trusted friends. Words of encouragement and the shoulder of support helped me through day’s I’ve seen better.

I personally thank them for their support. Most importantly, I thank Him of weaving such intricate design of relationships! After going astray for years, the last 9 years of the past 23 years, He’s still here. While it felt like going through crap back then, now I look back and I realised how God’s mysterious Hands continuously weave and spin, whether or not we’re aware of it.

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.

Ephesians 2:8, CEV

Indeed, I am being saved by my faith in God. A gift from Him on top of many other Gifts: the Gift of Life, the Gift of Wisdom, the Gift of Sanity, the Gift of the Spirit, the Gift of the Body and many more.

My friend and Christian brothers are God-sent. From where I stand: There couldn’t be a perfect timing! From His point of view: He knows it’s meant to be. Yes, even my relationship with Syed Khairul Aswad.

You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.

1 Corinthians 10:13, CEV

Individually, God tests us and our faith in Him everyday. Together, we are able to remind each other that God is greater than all of that. At the same time, God knows our limits individually. Thus, He would never test us beyond what we can bear!

Ultimately, I firmly believe, that I need these men, and in the future He may send women, are here to support us. Whether it’s moral or emotional support, they’re God’s gift for us. And when we sin or are about to commit it, they’re there to rebuke us in our faces and in a matter of fact kind of way. One test I learn is this: when ‘friends’ validate or justify a sinful behavior, they’re not your friends no matter what their creed may be.

Now you may ask, “Aldric, why did God send these evil people into my life to begin with? Why doesn’t He protect me from them?”

My answer would be: for His Glory. Again, referring to 1 Corinthians 10:13, it is a test. In addition to that, read it together with this verse: The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him (Matthew 4:1, CEV).

The answer to your question can be seen in 2 Corinthians 13:5:-

Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed.

2 Corinthians 13:5, CEV 

What can I offer you at this juncture? Go out, with faith in heart, seek companionship of friends. Stop trying to find that ‘true friend’. When God sends him or her, you’ll know it when you allow Him to do so… which is having faith in Him. I was talking to Vincent regarding the person in the Bible who suffered the most, and wholeheartedly accepted it, for His Glory besides Jesus Christ: it was Job.

Remember that when you’re looking for human friends, there’s a Holy Friend who’s more than willing to hold your hand and show you who the right ones are. Are you willing to take His Hand?

Enjoy and appreciate this song, Awesome God by Michael W. Smith:-