The Gift of Friendship

“To have a friend be a friend” (Anonymous).  Friendship is such a gift. God has blessed His people with small gifts, and friends are among the greatest of those. Some people take friendship lightly, but friendship is not a thing to be taken lightly.  To become a better friend, a person should know the definition of friendship.  This person should then understand why friendship is important. And then last of all, they need to apply their knowledge to become better friends.   Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a person can be given as long as they take the meaning, understand why it is importantriendship, and put all that into action.

Friendship is the bond between two people.  It is a deeper relationship than an acquaintance.   “A friend is someone we turn to when our spirits need a lift, a friend is someone we treasure for our friendship is a gift, a friend is someone who fills our lives with beauty, joy, and grace and makes the world we live in a better and happier place” (Anonymous).  In the Bible, there is the great example of friendship from David and Jonathan.  They loved each other more than they loved themselves. Samuel 18:1 says, “And it came to pass, when he had finished speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”  They had a bond that was unbreakable. Even when Jonathan’s dad, Saul, turned against David, Jonathan remained just as close to David.   Their friendship lasted till the end.

A friendship is not to be taken lightly.  It isn’t an opportunity; it’s a gift.  “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival” (C.S. Lewis).  Friends make people happy.  Companions help make life worth living.  Also, when a person makes a friend and is a true friend to that person, they can be a great encouragement to the companion and help these friends through the trials and troubles of everyday life.  If a friend is struggling, a true friend will patiently help them through those.  Faithful friends are very valuable.  Not turning on their friends, just as David and Jonathan didn’t turn on each other during the hard times, these people will become treasures worth more than rubies.  

Applying the qualities of friendship is necessary for a successful friendship.  Loving a friend even when they scrape up, faithfully sticking by one’s friends and being truthful in a friendship can make all the difference.  If a person treats a companion lovingly, faithfully, and how God would want them to be treated, this friend will be extremely blessed and uplifted.  Gossiping is not acceptable in a friendship. It builds up walls and tears down a friendship.  A self-controlled friendship will blossom because if words are used with self-control, kind words will overpower the angry, unkind words. Forgiving friends and forgetting what they have done wrong will help that friend feel loved and not feel judged.  Good friends encourage their friends in the Lord, pray for them, and build those friends up.

Friendship will be most successful if friends understand the definition of friendship, understand why friendship is necessary, and put that knowledge into practice.  Friendship is a bond between two people in unity. Friendship is necessary to make life more enjoyable. If the qualities are put into practice, a friendship will be a great, loving bond. “Friends are the flowers in the garden of life. Beginning with the seed of trust, nurtured with laughter and tears, growing into loyalty and love” (Anonymous).