When you hear the words, ‘a true friend’, is there someone in particular that comes to mind? According to Websters, a “true friend” is someone who is deeply attached to another, characterized by mutual affection, respect, and a desire for their happiness and well-being. However, I think we can put a lot more into that definition. We could add things like: who is honest (speaking truth good or bad), understanding, vulnerable in sharing inner thoughts, someone you’re able to confide in a 100%.

If I am being honest, I won’t say they don’t completely exist, but they are very far and few between. I learned a long time ago you can’t throw the term ‘I love you’ or ‘best friend’ around, they have to be carefully placed. We would like to think we have at least a handful of ‘good friends’ that we might be able to rely on or trust with minimal things. Mostly acquaintances. However in reality, if we have one ‘true friend’, we are extremely blessed.

In most of my life, I wouldn’t even begin to think of someone being a ‘true friend’; as the concept was foreign to me given my lack positive relationships in my life. I honestly am not sure I have really even heard the phrase until lately in my life now that I think about it. I guess that is why my mind sees it as a foreign subject.

I think love is an important factor in a true friend, not so much as a physical love, but the desire for their happiness and well-being as mentioned in the definition. When you love someone in friendship, deeply caring for them, you want the best for them. You want to protect them. You would do anything for them, even go out of your way for them. Putting them before yourself. You have compassion for someone, trying to relate to their situation and even when you can’t imagine the circumstance, be understanding. When you can be comfortable talking with someone and knowing that even if you are half way around the world, any time of day, you can be there for them.

The truest friend we will ever have is Jesus. Jesus will always be there to listen to us when we feel like we are alone or have no one who will understand our circumstances. Jesus knows what we are going through because he went through it. He knows our every weakness, even things we cannot say out loud to ourselves or cannot admit to. He knows and forgives us. He loves us unconditionally.

I love that song, ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’. It says in one part, oh what needless pain we bare. We try to carry so much on us sometimes, in the fact that, when we don’t have a ‘true friend’, we try to be the ‘truest friend’ we can be. We know what it is like to have grief in our lives, grief given to us by others we thought highly of. We have had our name drug through the trenches by people we thought so highly of. We have been discouraged by someone we had such respect for. All these things, made the hurt into a ‘true friend’, because we wouldn’t ever want anyone to feel the way we felt when we were let down.

I always said Jesus gave me a good heart, but I think he gave me a strong heart; one that could endure and care for others before myself.

Let Jesus be your ‘true friend’ in this life, I can promise he will always be there for you. Strive to be a ‘true friend’, Christ-like unto one another.

John 15:13 KJV “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”