What Does Being a Good Friend Even Mean?
This past Sunday some of the young adults in our church took care of the service at Pastor Lee’s request. (He was out of town at his daughter’s wedding. Congratulations Pastor Lee and Kay)
They did a great job! It was a great message and great music.
Since the first Sunday in August is Friendship Day their message centered around friendship and what it means to be a friend. When looked up, most definitions of friend are pretty vague.
A friend is – A person whom one knows, likes and trusts. An acquaintance. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause. A comrade.
Like I said…pretty vague.
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is stronger than an impersonal bond of an association. It is different for different people. It changes with age and personal preference.
I think a good place to find a definition of friendship is the Bible.
Here are 10 things the Bible says about friendship –
1. The First Problem in the World Was Not Sin but Solitude
At each step of the way when God created the world, he pronounced that everything was “good.” But then once he created Adam, something was not good. “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).
2. Friendship Is a Whole-Bible Theme
The Bible tells the story of the creation, fracturing, and ultimate restoration of true friendship—friendship with God, and also with each other.
3. Proverbs Is a Practical Guide to Forging True Friendship
Proverbs gives us wisdom for navigating the complexities of our relationships. And it doesn’t just address relationships in general, but also, friendship in particular.
4. True Friendship Is More Like a Covenant Than a Contract
The Bible shows us that real friendship is more covenantal than contractual. Proverbs teaches us about “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).
5. Friendship Thickens Church Community
Studies show our culture’s increasing social isolation. We are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. The book of Acts portrays the church as fulfilling ideals of friendship (Acts 2:42-47; Acts 4:32- 35).
6. Friendship Is the Goal of the Gospel
Christians rightly think about salvation as forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it is more than this. Jesus gives all who trust him the privilege of being his friends (John 15:14–15).
7. The Cross Is History’s Most Heroic Act of Friendship
Jesus wants us to view the cross in terms of friendship. Jesus said, “greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
8. Jesus Is Our Truest Friend
Many Christians hesitate to call Jesus a friend. But Jesus doesn’t share our hesitations. He invites us to understand our relationship on terms of friendship (John 15:12-17).
9. Friendship Shows the World That We Belong to Jesus
Jesus said in John 13:35: “by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
10. Friendship––with God and One Another––Is Our Greatest Joy
The apostle John wrote to believers for a purpose: “so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:3-4).
True friendship is something that is hard to find and when you do, you need to honor it by “being” a good friend.
Like I said earlier the young adults did a great job of choosing the music. One of the songs that we sang was Alan Jackson’s version of What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
Having Jesus as a friend is life changing!
In today’s social media world, we can have a lot of friends, but are they true friends? Having a lot of friends is way less important than having a few good ones.
Jesus is our example is what it means to be a good friend.