BE A FRIEND

John 15:15 (NLT) I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves.  Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

When I was a child, I always had great respect for God, but I didn't think He wanted to be close to me.  When I found out that Jesus said we were His friends, it was just too good to be true. But there it was, right there in the Bible. John 15:15 said, “…I no longer call you servants...I call you friends..."  How awesome is that!  The Most High God calls us friends.  A few years back, I had this phrase drop into my heart, "A friend of God's is a friend of mine,” so I went about finding out what God says a good friend is and does.

God has a lot to say about friendship, especially in the book of Proverbs.  It is full of wisdom when it comes to being a godly friend.  First, the Bible says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17).  So, a real friend is there for the good and especially the hard times.  We really need our true friends when times get tough.  We need them to agree with us and stand with us.  A couple verses up, it also tells us that a friend is someone to confide in.  Proverbs 17:9 (WEB) says, "He who covers an offense promotes love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends."  Being tight lipped is essential to being a good friend.  When someone tells you not to tell something to anyone else (unless what they tell you is illegal), you should keep it confidential.  Everybody always seems to know one person who will not tell.  That is definitely how rumors get started, and did you notice that everyone always adds to the story!  If what a friend tells you is too much for you, convince them to get to someone who can help them.  An important part of being a friend is giving them wise counsel and telling them the truth.  If you don't allow someone to tell you the truth, you are not allowing them to be your friend.  If I've got spinach in my teeth, I want to know.  Don't you?  Some people assume that they can go around and tell everybody they know what is wrong with them.  I am not talking about that. What I am saying is that "real" friends have to tell each other the whole truth and nothing but the truth; the good, the bad, and even the ugly!

The last one I will remind you of is this: a true friend is an encourager.  Proverbs 27:9 (AMPC) says, "Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so, does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart."  Even when I tell someone the truth and it's not so pretty, I want to leave them with encouragement.  We all need to be encouraged. We all need to be lifted up.

Let me leave you with this.  Be a Bible friend to someone.  Take these simple truths and put them into action with someone today.