Friends

December 19

There are friends and then there are friends. Some of the people we refer to as friends are really acquaintances. We have little in common with them and interact with them on rare occasions but we apply the term ‘friend’ to the relationship more because of a lack of precision in defining our association than because we truly count them as friends.

A real friend, as distinguished from a mere acquaintance, is a person to whom one is attached by feelings of affection or regard. These are the people to whom we turn, the people upon whom we depend, when we face difficulty; and they know they may turn to us in their times of need.

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:24, “Some friends may ruin you, but a real friend will love you like a brother.” The association that could lead to our ruin is the one that must be avoided, for it is not true friendship. We think of Jesus’ words in John 15:15-16, which tell us, “…I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I heard from My Father…” By this definition, we see that the Lord demonstrates a trust in His people that establishes them as His true friends.

He goes on to say in this passage, “…go produce fruit that will last…” A genuine friendship will be based not only in mutual trust but also in shared goals. If we apply this criterion to our human friendships, we can quickly discern which relationship is worthy of the term. Those friendships that lift us in faith and in hope and in truth and in love are those which Jesus would have us to enjoy, remembering the advice that was spoken in James 4:4, "Friendship with the world is enmity with God."