children's show theology:: entry 01

who is pooh-bear’s best friend?
is it piglet?
is it christopher robin?
does he have 2?
I was watching the pooh-bear movie with jane
and i was struck by this thought.
the story isn’t clear on who his best friend is-


pooh looks after piglet,
and christopher robin looks after pooh.
christopher influences pooh
and pooh influences piglet-


maybe there is something to that-
we need a friend that looks after us-
and we need someone that we’re looking after-
we need someone to lead us
and someone to lead.
in the bible the apostle paul had a timothy-
someone that he built into-
and he had a friend named barnabus-
that encouraged and inspired him.
it made sense to paul-
strangely- it made sense to pooh.


for some people, its easy to find mentors, and people that they look up to-
but could they also find someone to mentor?
for others- its just the opposite-
they have all kinds of people that they inspire,
but haven't asked anyone to build into them.
both relationships are important-
because both leave a person better and leave the world better.


students ask me all the time about friends of other faiths-
or friends with no faith at all-
is it good to have a friend like that?
maybe a better question is
"am I the christopher robin in this friendship or the pooh bear?"
who influences who?
who leads who?


who is your best friend?
are you the piglet in the relationship?
the follower?
the christopher robin?
the leader?
who is influencing who?
who leads who?


maybe you’re like a bear that’s stuffed with fluff-
and you’ve got 2 best friends-
a timothy and a barnabus,
a piglet and a christopher robin.
both are vital-
just ask the apostle paul
and winnie the pooh.