We begin learning friendship's lessons even when we are small children. We start out expecting that most other kids will accept us as friends with no questions asked.
At one point, we begin to discover that people make friends based around shared likes and dislikes. Eventually, we may find that friendship not only has benefits, but also has demands, each as a result of being loyal to another person.
We are told all our lives that it is more blessed to give than to receive, although some of us might admit that our instinct to receive seems to be stronger than our desire to give. But friendship teaches us vividly that there will be very little for us to receive if we have not given to those whom we care about.
Friendship is spiritual truth put into action, teaching that giving is its own enduring reward. Proverbs 17:17 explains:
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Most of us have seen this statement in action. We can move to different cities, change jobs, change churches, become famous or fall away from the in-crowd, and a real friend is still going to treat us as if no real change ever occurred.
We need to pay particular attention to the other half of Proverbs 17:17 -- “a brother is born for adversity.” Difficult times can reveal who our real friends are.
People who we thought we were close to sometimes lose interest when the circumstances of life make it difficult to remain in touch. Perhaps that is why it means so much to us when we can reconnect with a person with whom we’ve been out of touch, and that person treats us just as warmly as before.
When we’re walking on “easy street,” a real friend may choose either to be visible or instead to keep a low profile. But if we have walked into harm's way, instead of avoiding us as others will do, that person tends to get more involved in our lives to encourage us.
It is not enough to refer to that kind of person as “just a friend.” That person is really part of our family, maybe even more than someone who is a blood relative.
A friend who remains loyal through thick and thin has made a choice to adopt you as if you were kin. For all practical purposes, that person is your brother or your sister.
The benefit of giving lasting and loyal friendship is that neither time nor changes in life can erase the satisfaction of having made a difference in another person’s life.
A good friend may not be easy to find. But finding someone who needs friendship is rarely difficult. The blessings of giving will find you anyway.
Roy Collins
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