Want some resources on the power of friendship?
I like John Perkins, He Calls Me Friend: The Healing Power of Friendship in a Lonely World (Moody, 2019). Perkins builds a model of friendship around God's friendship with Abraham, who is called God's friend in Genesis. "I believe that Abraham discovered that friendship with God was like the pearl of great price. Matthew 13:45–46 tells us what Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Abraham discovered the true pearl. He found out that the only way to this awesome, all-knowing God was by faith. He gave up everything and began a pilgrimage of faith, trusting God every day for direction. And along the way he learned about God’s faithfulness. Friendship with God means leaving everything else behind … especially our prejudices and wrong notions about people who don’t look like us." p. 34
Some people think that The Shawshank Redemption (1994) is a great film about friendship. Red and Andy forge a friendship under the terrible conditions of a corrupt and violent prison. That friendship may be more of the redemption mentioned in the title than just the successful escape at the end.
Read Trevon Wax's blog on Friendship, which references a podcast with Andy Crouch in which the writer explores the book of Ruth as a story of the redemptive power of friendship. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/culture-collapse-build-friendships/
Check out the full story of Derek Black and his transformation through friendship. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html
Pascal's disclaimer: Hume and I seek to engage a wide variety of media and cultural work in our quest to think Christianly about contemporary culture and how to care for it and make it flourish. This doesn't mean that we (or our church community) endorse or recommend all of the movies, shows, music, books, art, or ideas that we interact with. Our friends at The Gospel Coalition (TGC) have put together a useful guide to help you make wise decisions about cultural consumption. Read through their 5 questions at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/should-i-watch-this-5-questions-for-the-discerning-viewer/
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