"One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another
sentiments of esteem, respect, and affection, which lead him to desire
his company, and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity;opposed
to foe or enemy. One not hostile; one reconciled after enmity. An attendant;
a companion. A favorer, a favorite."
By now you've probably guessed to what word this definition belongs -
a friend. At what point did you finally realize that's what the definition
was? Is that because these are the qualities that speak most to you of
what a true friend is? What sort of attributes do you actually look for
in a friend? What traits listed above do your friends find in you?? Some
say old friends are best. Perhaps it is because they have made traveling
this pilgrim pathway a much easier task, having gone over the bumps in
the road right along with us. Can you imagine not having any friends?
Though some of us are introverts and some of us are extroverts, we still
need friends, amen? Especially in these last days! Consider for a moment
just what it would be like not to have at least one friend when times
were really tough, or when you were really oppressed. Ecclesiastes 4:1
describes it very well:
So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under
the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had
no comforter; and on one side of their oppressors there was power; but
they had no comforter.
There is great profit in men and women caring faithfully for one another,
yet great sadness when they do not. Such companionship, such loyal friendship
is of high value and should not be taken for granted, for it offers much
comfort to our souls in the time of our oppressions. Two truly are better
than one!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (KJV)
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that
is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again,
if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold
cord is not quickly broken.
You see ladies, a friend is to love at all times - especially hard times,
the Bible says. Sadly though, there are quantities of people who feel
having friends is risky business and shun any attempt that others may
make in their direction. They have a sour perspective on the whole concept
because they've never experienced the benefit of having a true friend
in their life. They never had someone come along side of them that truly
cared. They have never known someone to lift them up when they fell. They
are not familiar with an individual being totally committed to their best
interest and consequentially, have cried alone many a night.
Psalm 142:4 (KJV)
I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would
know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
Incidentally, are you living proof that friendship is profitable by the
kind of friend that you are? Do you stand by your friends when they are
struggling, or do you only want to be around them when they have something
to offer you?? Whether old or new, don't be guilty of forsaking your friends
just when they need you the most...
Proverbs 17:17 (KJV)
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 27:10 (KJV)
Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not...
The apostle Paul realized the meaning of friendship and mentions his friend
in his epistle to Timothy. Paul had become old in the service of Christ;
the scourging and stoning and shipwrecks and mental anxieties of the past
had told upon him, and he was now Paul the aged. Moreover, at this time
he was confined in Rome and daily expecting to be executed; so he was
Paul the prisoner; and he was Paul the poor, as is seen in his written
request for that faraway cloak at Troas; and he was Paul the lonely and
forsaken. If ever he needed friends and Christian companionship it was
now; yet Demas, Titus, Crescens and Mark are all gone, he is entirely
forsaken save by one person, and that the faithful Luke. So he writes
to Timothy in verse 11 of chapter 4 in 2 Timothy, "Only Luke is with me."
How much tenderness, devotion, loyalty and faithfulness is conveyed in
this concise expression! What a wonderful picture of a true friend is
Luke… Hundreds whom the apostle led to Christ are dead and gone; hundreds
more in distant active fields of labor, have forgotten him; but with the
needy aged prisoner lingers one who proposes to stand by him until the
last - one good friend. Praise God for friends that stick by you to the
end!
John 15:13 (KJV)
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends.
Is there somebody today for whom you need to lay down your life? Someone
that needs you to be a better friend than you have in the past? Someone
for whom you need to put aside your own selfish desires and plans in order
to come along side of them and help them, comfort them, or warm their
heart with your presence? Ladies, if the quality of our friendships isn't
what it should be, then who do you think is responsible for improving
them? Should we always wait for the other person to go first? The Bible
says to shew YOURSELF friendly, not spend your time worrying about the
other person's track record as a friend! Two are better than one... Be
careful of thinking you don't need anybody and that nobody needs you!
Oppression is everywhere, but friends are not! Why not look around you
and see if there isn't someone you can encourage today, someone who needs
the kind of friend that Christ has been to us. To whom much is given,
much will be required. You NEED to be a good friend! A faithful friend
is an image of God... John 14:18 (KJV)
I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.
If the above verse was reflective of Jesus manner as a friend, then that
should be our manner too! I hope that within your sphere of influence
each of you is doing all you can today to be the friend that Christ would
have you to be to others. “Insomuch as anyone pushes you nearer to God,
he or she is a friend.” May you and I never be the reason that someone
has to tell Jesus these words, as the impotent man did in John 5:7:
Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool....
Yes, this man waited 38 years for a friend! Will you make someone wait
that long before you become a friend to them?? Certainly it's better to
have someone thanking the Lord for a friend like you, than it is for him
or her to tell God there is no one with you so close by! Ladies, we will
answer for the kind of friend we are - or aren't - toward others. Look
around and see if you've missed someone that has needed help. Jesus was
found mingling within that crowd of helpless, friendless people lying
around the pool in John chapter 5. He singled out one man and went to
him, spoke to him, and made him well. It's as simple as that to be a friend!
All it requires is a little self-sacrifice... Why don't you go try it
and see for yourself? omeone out there needs a friend like you, a friend
like Christ!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
