The Treasure Of True Friends

Louise Harris

I have been reflecting on friendship and how very precious it is. Every Saturday morning for the past 10 years, I have a call with my dear friend Gill who I've known since I was 12. We started these regular calls when I was going through a really difficult time, and Gill would call me every week to see how I was doing.

That regular and consistent check-in meant so much to me and really showed me how much she cared. We talked things through and she did a lot of listening.

More recently it's been me making the calls, as Gill has a number of challenges to face. We act as a sounding board for each other, listening and encouraging, lifting each other up through the valleys of life, and celebrating the good times.

I am blessed to have many such wonderful friends, and I am immensely grateful for each of them. They bring such joy, companionship, support, fun and laughter, and I’m not sure what I would do without them. It’s such a privilege to have friends and also to be a friend - of course it works both ways.

Friendship features frequently in the bible, and it’s a high calling. It’s all about love, and a read of 1 Corinthians 13 tells us all we need to know about being a good friend. This is what I see in it - being patient, kind, not envious or boastful or rude, not irritable or resentful, doesn’t keep score, doesn’t judge, is tolerant and doesn’t give up. It’s quite a challenge for flawed human beings, but what joy we experience when we are treated like that.

A friendship with those qualities is a safe space, somewhere we breathe a huge sigh of relief and be ourselves, knowing we are loved. It’s very different from some of shallow and competitive examples we often see on social media.

Of course, we are human and will fail each other at times: some friendships endure, some go through ups and downs, and some are just for a season. Some fracture beyond repair or will be restored later down the line, but our truest and purest friend is of course our Lord Jesus.

We may have many friends of different degrees but, as the passage in Proverbs says: “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 18:24. He loves us at all times and his loyalty cannot be surpassed. He laid down his life for us: Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. John 15:13.

So as we look to Him as our greatest example, let’s treasure and nurture our friendships; not taking them for granted but keep on investing in them, sowing love into them, forgiving ourselves and others when we get it wrong, most of all enjoying and celebrating them.

Here’s to friendships and all that they bring!