We are designed to be in relationships with others. Friendship is a gift from God, and Sabbath School provides a great place to build friendships! In our class groups, we encounter shared challenges, joys, and opportunities to grow in faith together.
Sabbath School friends will be there for each other when times are tough. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up" ( Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Once we are in a Sabbath School group, things we would have faced alone will be faced with faith-filled friends - the best kind of friends there are!
Sabbath School classes are discipleship groups. Jesus told His disciples, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13). Jesus calls His followers not just servants, but friends. In your Sabbath School groups, you are following Jesus together. You are modern-day disciples!
The Early Church in Acts 2:42-47 is a powerful example of Sabbath School Groups in action. Believers devoted themselves to group worship, breaking bread, group prayer, and sharing everything. Their unity and love for one another were so profound that they changed the world around them.
The apostle Paul gives us some principles for forming healthy friendships in Sabbath School. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Philippians 2:3-4). Prioritising others is essential in maintaining a healthy, Christ-centered Sabbath School.
When tough conversations or battles of will happen in Sabbath School, Ephesians 4:2-3 provides valuable counsel: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Unity requires effort, patience, and a willingness to overlook offences. In group settings, this often means valuing the opinions and experiences of others even when they differ from our own.
True Christian friendships point us and others to Jesus. Disciples reflect Christ’s love to the world. Let us seek to be friends who love as Jesus loved.