A sweet friendship refreshes the soul - Proverbs 27:9
The world’s idea of intimacy in friendship is making much of one another: “I can’t live without you!” Compliments and pledges of devotion quickly give a brief and false adrenaline rush of importance and significance.
We certainly need to encourage and affirm one another, but Christian friends should be far more focused on God’s weight and significance — not their own or their friend’s. Like everything else, the end goal of our friendships should be God and his glory.
Since our hearts are prone to wander away and worship other things, we need these constant reminders of his glory and his worth in our friendships.
True friends heighten our joy in God.
True friends expose sin in us that keeps us from God. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. (Proverbs 27:6)
True friends encourage us to obey God. Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24; see also Hebrews 3:13)
True friends bring us to God in our weakness. Behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. (Luke 5:18–19)
True friends love us for the glory of God. Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
The essence of Christian friendship is companionship forged in the fire of two convictions: Jesus alone can satisfy the soul and His kingdom alone is worth living for.
A question to ask yourself are you being a true friend to those around you?
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