WHAT A FRIEND ! ! !

"Worse than feeling lonely

when you are on your own
is feeling lonely

when you are among people"

Although the Scriptures say "it's not good for man to be alone", sometimes, for different reasons, we are comfortable with being on our own, the problem begins when we start struggling with loneliness in a world whose population has reached more than 6.6 billions.

The truth is that loneliness has nothing to do with the number of people around you, but how many of them, out of your family, you count on at any time, these people are called "friends".

Does friendship depend on each one's values? Is it subjective or can it be objectively defined?

The Bible shows us very clearly what a friend is:

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity”. Prov 17:17

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. Prov 18:24

“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you — better a neighbour nearby than a brother far away”. Prov 27:9-10

Even though we are part of a community, our friends represent a remarkable source of strength and support, people who not only cheer us on when we are doing well, but who wisely rebuke us when the bandages must be taken off to see our mistakes. They are a point of balance helping us through our "ups-and-downs".

Jesus spent a huge amount of time with the crowd but only a few He called his friends, from them three were his closest friends, and out of these three: John "the disciple who the Lord loved". It does not mean Jesus did not love the crowd or the rest of His disciples, it means John was the one who supported him the most, the only one who was courageous enough to risk his own life to be present at the most difficult time in Jesus' life, his crucifixion. John was definitely a friend of friends.

Points to take into consideration:

- Friendship cannot be built in a day nor it is a one-way street: like all kind of relationships it needs to be fed and looked after by those who are involved in it being develop on reciprocal basis. Jesus spent years not only teaching but building their confidence and molding and shaping them.

- Once love gets involved other virtues come along: loyalty, respect, patience, honesty, kindness, self-denial, forgiveness, collaboration, consideration, compassion, among others.

- Friendship should be part of any kind of relationship as a starting point.

- Friends make mistakes: we can indeed be hurt by a friend but in friendship "forgiveness" is a key word too. Jesus was let several times down by his disciples, but He still considered them his friends.

Nowadays the value of friendship seems to have been overcome by daily worries, individualism and busy agendas. Re-write your priorities and leave some space for those special people who would lay down their lives for you. You will surely not regret it.

“Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. 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”. Jn 15:13-15