“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).
