A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a Friend  that sticketh closer than a brother  Prov. 18:24 KJV Phil. 4: 1-3

Recurrent Thought

Relationships are significant links that are essential in life for many reasons. Recognize and nurture them to fully receive their benefits.

Apostle Paul did not significant and well known by himself alone. He did not open cities of God alone. He always went with others that are not usually known like him. He gained a lot from others; these others contributed to the success of his apostolic ministry.  He built relationships, you can see this in his writings. 

Relationships are interpersonal links in which two or more people are connected around a purpose. Relationships are essential in life, and any communal project or work. People that lead organizations come to realize that they are better off with significant interpersonal links that holistically impact and sustain them. In pursuing destinies there are different forms of benefits from different forms of relationship. In the walk of faith, we come to realize that the Relationships are conduits of Favor. 

One significant description of Favor is divine enablement, where God in Partnership with human beings provide help to your life and destiny. God blesses you, but he does it through others. Favor is when people invest time, resources and credibility over your life and destiny. Other ways in which Favor is released is through honor, value and Prayer. Favor is unlocked when we recognize the value of specific persons in our lives or in our assignments. 

You cannot succeed alone. God never intended for you to live without relationships. 

When God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He was not just emphasizing marriage only. It is not good for anyone to be alone relationally. A relationship is a privilege but it is also cannot be avoided (Mike Murdock). There will be many kinds of relationship that will come work with you in different ways. Relationships may come as Mentors, Mentees (protégés) Friends, Coaches, Sponsors, acquaintances, Enemies, etc.

The Journey towards your dreams is dotted with relationships who come to participate and support you in many different ways. Recognize them, for they carry favor. Paul knew the value of these relationships that is why in epistle he would take time to mention as many as possible, identifying their special needs and also promising them prayer. In this text we see three ways to nurture and grow relationships. 

1. Celebrate Your Friendships  (4:1)

   1. Paul calls them with titles of endearment: my brothers, my beloved, true companions 
   2. Paul celebrates them with words of strong closeness and friendship: He say’s: Whom I love, and long for
   3. Paul celebrates the type of Value they bring to him: my joy, and crown (Pro. 27:9)
   4. Paul celebrates their efforts in the apostolic team: They labored side by side (4:3)
   5. Paul celebrates them contrary to culture: they are women who worked side by side
2. Care for Your Friendships (4:2; Pro. 27:6)
   1. Paul identifies two women as co-laborer with him: Euodia and Syntyche.
   2. It seems the two were at logger heads and their differences became so public to the point that Paul head about in Rome. But Paul decided to nurture the friendships by caring for them. 
   3. Care for Your friendships when you see them hurting
   4. Care for Your friendships when you seem destroying themselves
   5. Care for them to the point of confronting the wrong in the relationship
   6. Paul called upon both of them to ensure that they sort the issues through the principles of Jesus: Agree in the Lord
   7. Conflicts will always happen; but Christians must learn to handle them in the Lord (not in our wisdom)
3. Challenge Your Friendships (4:3)
   1. Friendships are also nurtured by challenging them to invest more
   2. It seems the contention of this ladies has become so public and is consuming every credit  that was built earlier#
   3. “You also” person is hard to identify. Some people believe he was referring to the whole church, to Clement or to Epaphroditus. 
   4. He calls this “Person” to rise to the occasion of help and sort out the issue that had arisen.
   5. Challenge Your friends with wisdom to invest more, risk more for the relationship 

Conclusion

Good friends carry favor for You. Intentionally, nurture the relationships:

Celebrate them, regularly.  

Care for them, consistently

Challenge them, whenever possible