THE BLESSING OF FRIENDSHIP

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for HIS FRIENDS” – John 15:13

One of our most valuable assets in life is the BLESSING of FRIENDSHIP: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for HIS FRIENDS” (Jh.15:13). Here, the Lord Jesus Christ underscored the sacrificial Blessing of Friendship. It was the height of intimacy for Him to relate to His disciples – servants and students – as friends: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (v.15). God values friendship greatly. Jesus resembled His Father on this matter: “So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” (Exo.33:11a). Abraham was also called “the Friend of God” (Jam.2:23b). God longs for the devotion of His friends: “Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jam.4:4)

A true friend is loyal. Solomon was mentored on the value of Friendship, and he devoted many proverbs to the theme of Friendship: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Pro.17:17). The point here is that your family members are naturally expected to stick with you. A friend is a person who chooses to be loyal; one who takes the time to know who you really are and does not walk away. A true friend is the one who remains when everyone else disappears. He or she is never transitory or seasonal, and will stay, stick, and abide with you through thick and thin. A true friend is one to whom you can vent and not have the other person think less of you. They understand your heart and what you do – even if foolish – and this does not change what they know to be true. Your friends are those who rally around you in a time of need or crisis.

A true friend will tell you the truth, even if it hurts: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Pro.27:6). Friendship can be very rewarding, even when it hurts: “As iron sharpens iron, so a mam sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Pro.27:17). When iron sharpens iron, friction is created. When a friend wounds you, it hurts, but to hurt is not necessarily to harm. There is a difference between someone being loved and someone feeling loved. Jesus loved everyone well. Although some people felt hurt, they were not harmed by Him. A friend may inevitably hurt you with words that sound harsh, but are blunt and true. A true friend is more concerned about your growth than your ego. They want to refine you rather than flatter you. You can’t grow in isolation. God designed us to sharpen each other. We all need someone in our lives to whom we can say, “Help me to see what I am blind to in myself.”

A good friend is one with whom you can talk about anything, knowing they will listen to the whole story rather than make quick judgments. They will make time for you. A true friend transcends times of separation. True friends pick up conversations after long separations, as if they had never been apart. In spite of what our Facebook pages may say, we don’t have that many good friends. We can be “friendly” with many people, but with most of these we feel the need to be guarded rather than open, because if we do, we could be burned. True friends are actually rare – like gold. They are precious and need to be cherished and listened to. Proverbs 18:24 says: “A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” This means that friendship can graduate into brotherhood and even surpass it! And this reminds us of the friendship we should seek above all others: friendship with our Savior and Lord, Jesus! The Blessing of Friendship is indeed of rare value!