A Good Friend

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

To find a good friend you must first show yourself to be friendly. A life without friends is a life less than God intended for us. Since we are created in His image, we must make and maintain friendships. Loneliness is rampant. Many people today feel cut off and alienated from others. There are times of being in a crowd that just makes people more aware of their isolation. People need friends who will stick close, listen, care and offer help when it is needed in good times and bad. It is better to have one such friend than a dozen superficial acquaintances. Friends are precious and few. The only way to have a friend is to be one." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The first time we see friendship in action is in the book of Genesis. God created Adam and saw that it was not good that man should be alone, so he brought Eve to Adam. God had fellowship with Adam and Eve. This is a good illustration early on of true friendship. We can find true friendship affords us comfort even in our times of trouble. Even when Adam and Eve sinned and were disobedient in the Garden of Eden, God still demonstrated his love to them and set a plan in motion to redeem them to himself.

Friends share good things with each other. Good friends are warm and stable. Good friends will resolve their conflicts by forgiving and getting forgiveness. Good friends admit wrongs, apologize for being wrong, and forgive wrongs. Good friendship is also sacrificial. Friends will sacrifice for each other because they love each other. We are to love one another as Jesus loved us, and he loved us enough to give his life for us. Good friends:

• Good friends listen to one another

• Good friends are approachable

• Good friends are dependable

• Good friends are trustworthy

• Good friends care about one another

Part of being a good friend is being willing to listen rather than just talk. This takes time and effort but if you can make time just to listen to others and respect what they have to say, then it's a sign of a good friend. Can your friends approach you? Are you willing to make yourself available on short notice? When the going gets tough can your friends depend on you? If a friend tells you something personal can we be counted on to keep their confidence? Or do you go and tell everyone at the first opportunity? People need to know that they can trust a friend with important information. A good friend is both trustworthy and reliable. A good friend avoids speaking badly about others or spreading rumors in order to hurt them? Do you defend friends when you hear others gossiping about them? The sign of a good friendship is when you can be totally honest with the other person, without them being offended because they know you have their best interests at heart.

In the words of a well known hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus” - All our sins and grief’s to bear, and what a privilege to carry everything to God in Prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share, Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in Prayer. This Easter season Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends." He gave his life; it was not taken from him! After his death and his burial, Jesus rose from the grave. What a friend we have in Jesus. To the world you may be just one person; but to one person you might be the world ~ Brandi Snyder. God loves you and so do I…. Pastor Tammy