You become who your friends are. Do you remember this piece of advice from when you were in Middle School? I remember hearing this in sixth grade and for whatever reason it struck a chord in me. It began me on a path of understanding that we are all incredibly impressionable.

Impressionability is an interesting thing. It means we aren’t fixed. We’re malleable and fluid in a sense. I’m no longer talking about your sixth-grade self, no I’m referring to where you are now – whatever age.

The charge to the Christian is clear in many facets, and one of those pillars is a call to fellowship. A portion of that is corporate as mentioned here in Hebrews, “And let us not neglect our meeting together… but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).

Another piece is discipleship. We need to look no further than the last words Jesus left us with when He commanded His disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

As I’ve done some subtle self-assessing of late, I’m noticing that the “becoming who your friends are” theme is just as true today as it was in the heart of those early, awkward adolescent years. This is not a truth we graduate from.

Now, there’s an important point that needs to be said. It’s not your friends’ fault that you aren’t where you want to be. You are still responsible for your own choices. You could tie an anchor to your ankle and throw it over the boat and blame the anchor you drowned, but was it really the anchor’s fault?

What kind of people are you choosing to have in your life? Are they the kind of people that are thrusting and encouraging you to new heights, or are they holding you back and pulling you down to places you know you ought not to go? And ask yourself, how has your impressionability been influenced in the last few months?

These are hard questions, but the answers are usually known in our being fairly quickly. I’d encourage you to pull out a pen and paper and write down your findings. Are the people you’re running with the kind of people you’d like to be five years down the road? I’m very thankful to have some amazing friends. I hope you do too. The charge here really is – be careful who you allow to speak truth into your life.

Friend, wherever you find yourself in life, your friends and your community matter. I want to charge us both to participate. Let’s not neglect, as believers, gathering corporately. And, like a row of dominos, find someone to disciple you and then play your part to pour into and disciple another. This was the last charge of Jesus’ Gospel that stops not at the corporate but goes even to you and I – individually.