This was originally posted on my blog on June 15, 2010:
John 15:15, Jesus: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
The pastor at the church I visited this past Sunday made a good point: “It’s said that friends are people who accept you just the way you are. Well, the guy at the drive-thru accepts you just the way you are because he really doesn’t care about your life. A friend is the person who challenges you to do better in life.”
True words.
Then last night I was reading Proverbs 27 which has several things to say about friendship:
- A faithful friend will rebuke you when necessary. Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.—27:5-6
- Close friends are better than far away family members. Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.—27:10
- A good friend sharpens you to be a better person. Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.—27:17
Good friendships are vital to life and godly friendships are vital to a life of following Jesus. We all need a group around us of faithful Christians who will keep us accountable, challenge us, lift us up, care for us when we’re down, and have fun with us.
Seek to be a good friend to others, and build that network of friends around yourself.