A friend can be defined as a person that you are fond of; someone with whom you talk or spend time with; a person on the same side in a struggle; is helpful and a person who you trust. True friendship is based on love, because only love will endure the tests that friends experience as they go through life together. Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a faithful friend “loves at all times.” A loving friend is someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same. A faithful friend loves you and is also someone you can count on and will not let you go or turn his back on you. He or she is dependable. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” We do fall or get knocked down at times, don’t we? And how wonderful it is when we have a friend who cares enough to lift us up, dust us off, and help us continue on. A true friend is one who helps you become who God has made you to be. Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Someone once said, “A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts who you’ve become and still gently invites you to grow.” We all need friends who will sharpen us by giving us advice and counsel.

Psychologists tell us that the quickest way to get rid of our troubles is to become involved in helping someone else because begin to forget your own problems. We seldom realize that. We think that when we are having trouble, we need to do something for ourselves, but that’s not the answer. If we spend all our lives trying to accumulate more and more possessions, we will never truly be happy and fulfilled. On the other hand we can decide to focus on building relationships, trying to make friends and to be a friend. While we can’t pick our families, we can select our friends. What’s important about selecting friends is we must be careful about the kinds of friends we choose. The reason we need to be careful is because we often become just like the people we hang around with. It has been said that we are known by the company we keep so choose friends who you trust and who have proven themselves to you. Choose friends who will be with you through thick and thin and who will be there when the going gets tough. As you journey through life you will discover that you will have many acquaintances but only a few true friends. Acquaintances come and go but a friend is someone who over time has remained steadfast and loyal throughout the years. When Howard Hughes was worth approximately 4 billion dollars, he reportedly said, “I’d give it all for one good friend. Money can buy you a lot of things but never a friendship.

Are you in need of a friend? Do you desire to be known and to know someone who would not hesitate to lay down his life for you? His name is Jesus and he is “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” His friendship has no limitations and it can never be broken. Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. When you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you become a part of the heavenly family that goes on into eternity for not even death can separate you from Him. This friendship can be obtained just by calling on his precious name and accepting him as your Lord and Savior. Seek him and you will find him. He will be the greatest friend that you will ever need.