Hello everyone! Friendship is a wonderful thing. I have some of the best friends in the world and yes I am probably biased. I hope all of you feel the same way about your friends. Friendship as the picture verse says is trully refreshing and good for all of us.
How does one be a good friend though? I can tell you two things about this: 1) A good friend accepts people for who they are and like they are without trying to change them and 2) Good friends listen. They know each other - and I'm not talking about surface conversations. They know the good, the bad and the ugly.
I can tell you being a good friend my be uncomfortable sometimes for you but this life is not about you. Life is about relationships and God loves relationships. He loves friendship and He loves your friendships. He even wants to be a friend of yours, a good friend of yours. He already knows you better than you know yourself anyway because He is God. He can even teach you how to be a good friend. He has taught me alot about this in the past few years. He has also been my friend for many years, through good and bad times.
Here are a few verses to ponder on friendship. Ponder them well:
Proverbs 27:17 says; As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].
Colossians 3:12-14; So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others].
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if [a]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.
John 15:15 (Jesus speaking); I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Be a good friend and let others be good friends to you. Above all else, let God be your good friend because He loves you so very much! He is the best friend you could ever have.
Until next time,
Elizabeth