So first let’s deal with what a “car-share” isn’t.
It isn’t a small/home/life group put together by your church.
It isn’t your mates WhatsApp group full of memes and emojis.
It probably isn’t formal and you were probably never invited to join it.
It is “you guys” the people who know you best, love you most, forgive you quickest, come round with food when you are grieving and fire champagne corks when you get a new job. It is the people who ask you difficult questions about your motives, who know the names of your parents, who recognise when you are exhausted, who know your secrets but have never told them to anyone else, who make you cry with laughter and who sit with you while you ask tough questions about faith.
It is a mindset and pattern of shared existence.
The friendship is both natural and spontaneous, but also purposeful and deliberate. For each of you it is important to share tips about good programmes to watch, but it is also (more) important to protect and encourage one another’s faith in Christ.
These are the most precious friendships we could have. They are deep and long-lasting and highly valued. They don’t come easy, they are often forged over time and strengthened by surviving trial and pain. They are honest and comfortable and always result in a “better you”.
My mates Steve, Mark and Mark are all people I would say I “Car-Share” with, and have done so for more than 2 decades. We have seen each other at our best, and at our weakest. We have holidayed together and hurt each other. We pray deeply for one another….each has challenged me at times, confronted me once or twice, encouraged me a million times and importantly helped me to follow Jesus. They have needed me on some days, I have needed them on others.
My encouragement to you, as we each seek to grow as a disciple, is to either prioritise a friendship like this with a few people (more people than you can fit in a car and you probably won’t be able to sustain it) – and if you feel in need of these relationships…the day to start building is today! They are built be consistent time, raw honesty, unconditional love, truth and accountability, trust and affection. It might take a while before you dive into the early morning sea for them, but it will be worth it.
May you, as you realise the important of the car-share, be blessed with joy-filled companionship with fellow-disciples who walk alongside you as you follow Jesus together.
