FRIENDLINESS

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother – Proverbs 18:24

FRIENDLINESS is a divine Virtue – a virtue that God explicitly exemplifies and our Lord Jesus Christ models. God chose to befriend Man – His creature! He related to Adam as a friend, visiting to commune with him, “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen.3:8a). Adam unfortunately wasted the grace of divine intimacy; but that did not deter God from being friendly with man. Friendliness is in the core of His Character. Over time, God struck a covenant with the man Abraham, which culminated in an everlasting friendship: “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the FRIEND of God” (Jam.2:23).

Friendship is one aspect of our relationship with God that seems to have been under-emphasized. Believers in Christ are God’s friends! In the New Covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ affirmed: “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” (Jh.15:15). Jesus demonstrated and displayed the Zenith of friendship: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jh.15:13). So, what can we learn and emulate from God, and manifest regarding friendliness? Here are five useful insights into the Virtue of Friendliness:

• FRIENDS STAY: they stick, abide and remain in all seasons, through all circumstances, and under every pressure. True friendship is life-long! Proverbs 17:17 says that “a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A good friend is one who walks in when others walk out on you – like Jesus who stuck with and rescued from her accusers the woman that was caught in the act of adultery (Jh.8:3-11). “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb.13:5).
• FRIENDS SACRIFICE: they give sacrificially of their attention, blessings, gifts, interests, and time. They mutually share burdens and pains, like the friends of Job (Job 2:11). A good friend will see you through when others see that you’re through, as was the case of Hushai the Archite with David in his days of distress (2 Sam.15:32-37).
• FRIENDS SHARPEN: they encourage, motivate, chastise, and correct. Gof for example, sharpened His friends – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and others down the ages. A good friend never gets in your way unless you are on your way down. The best friends are those who bring out the best in you; who encourage that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil.4: 13). Friends mind the same things; they think alike, because they are headed in the same direction. A true friend doesn’t simply sympathize with your weakness – he helps summon your strength (Jer.1:7).

• FRIENDS SHARE: they communicate “heart-to-heart”; they commune intimate knowledge, secrets, and counsel. “So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” (Exo.33:11a). A friend is one before whom you can dream aloud and not be ashamed. Before the onset of Sin, Adam and Eve began as friends, hence: “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen.2:25).  Friends are open, honest, sincere, and unpretentious.

• FRIENDS SEEK: they go all out to seek for one another and their mutual welfare. Friends care, show concern, help, and render sincere assistance. The unique testimony of Lazarus raising from the dead cannot be divorced from the fact that Jesus was his friend: “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (Jh.11:11; 12:1-2). A friend is someone who knows all about you, but likes you anyway.

Friends are assets and ‘value-creators’ as the case of David and Jonathan uniquely illustrates (1Sam.18:1-4; 2Sam.9:1-3). True friends are committed to covenants. Friendship must be cherished, respected, and nurtured. True friendship consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and value. Are you a friend of God? How friendly are you? And how much value are you adding to the lives of your friends?