The 7 Factors of Friendship
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24
The month of August includes national “best friends” day as well as “friendship day” which gives us good cause to open up our Bible which has much to teach us regarding friendship. There probably isn’t a more beautiful portrait of friendship in all the Bible regarding friendship than that which is found in John 13:1, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Just hours before Jesus was to suffer an agonizing death upon the Cross, the apostle John writes, “He (Jesus) loved them (His disciples) to the end.”
The word “end” in the Greek language here speaks of fulfilling which in reality means without end. Our daughter has an expression she uses to convey that thought to her children when she says to her son Charlie, “I love you to the moon and back.” Jesus love for His disciples (including you and me) has never vacillated, it has never failed and most of all, it will never end.
Friendships are as unique as the people who share them, some last but for a season while others exist for a reason but the best ones are the ones that last a lifetime. Below are 7 reminders regarding friendship. Countless interviews on friendship have been done through the years. Here are just 7 that stand out from the crowd.
1. Your Best Friends Love You For You. There is an old saying that comes to mind, “Love People, Use Things” because our world has this backwards as the world uses us for our stuff then discards us and moves on to someone else.
Friendships should be our most valuable possession. Poet Emily Dickenson, wrote “My friends are my estate.” (my social standing or status).
2. Your Best Friends Listen. Your best friends have the biggest ears. Not for gossip but for confession, for pouring out our sorrows and sharing in whatever life brings our way. Studying the book of Job I borrowed someones copy of an old Chuck Swindoll’s commentary on the book of Job, “Why Bad Things Happen To Good People” and it said regarding Job chapter 2-3, “Jobs friends heard his words but did not feel the anguish of his heart, and they took the wrong approach to helping him handle his trials.” Have you ever met someone who you knew before you listened to them you would like what you would hear? That’s the making of a good friendship.
Chuck Swindoll tells this story about one of his daughters when she was quite small. One day he came home tired from a long day of ministry. As he sat in his easy chair in front of a relaxing football game, hoping to catch the last half in peace, his young daughter approached him and began jabbering as fast as she could. Vainly trying to enjoy the game, Chuck said, “Honey, slow down. You’re talking too fast.” Quick as a whip, the child responded, “No Daddy, I’m not talking too fast. You are listening too slow!”
Psalm 91:15 says, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”
Isaiah 65:24 goes on to say, “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
3. Your Best Friends Protect You. Your true friends will always protect you. This is where casual friendships are separated from deep lasting ones. A couple of quotes that come to mind are, “A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.” Walter Winchell. Here’s a humorous definition, “Your friends won’t come visit you in prison because they will already be there with you.” The point is true friends don’t sell out. Proverbs 17:9 says, “He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.”
4. Your Best Friends Love You, Warts And All. Hang around people for any length of time and you will undoubtedly end up saying or doing something that in many circles “can and will be used against you” but when it happens among friends maybe Lawrence Peters says it best, “you can tell a real friend by the fact that when you’ve made a fool of yourself he or she doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.”
One of my personal favorite quotes on friendship is by Dinah Craik, a poem she wrote, “Friendship: “O, the comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words – but pouring them right out – just as they are – chaff and grain together – Certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them – Keep what is worth keeping – And with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” So beautifully and eloquently spoken.
5. Your Best Friends Bring Out The Best In You. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Translated it means they make you smile.
6. Your Best Friends Bring Out The Jesus In You. I love the quote, “A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts who you’ve become and still gently invites you to grow.”
“A true friend is not necessarily the one you play with but the one you pray with.”
7. Your Best Friends Express Their Love and Friendship. The bible says, “open rebuke is better than hidden love” and it’s true. Your best friends are not afraid to express their love in both words and deeds. After all, isn’t that the way Jesus loves us. He told us He loved us and He showed us by going to the Cross for us and dying in our place.
People ask how much did Jesus really love us? To God they say, “How much do you love me?” Jesus answered when He spread out His arms on Calvary’s Cross and said, “This much” and then He died.
Jesus Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). No one has ever loved us like Jesus does. Oh what a friend we have in Jesus.
There you have it, friends, 7 friendship factors to keep in mind as you cultivate your own life long friendships.
“A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity”
Proverbs 17:17
I LOVE YOU!
Proverbs 18:24
The month of August includes national “best friends” day as well as “friendship day” which gives us good cause to open up our Bible which has much to teach us regarding friendship. There probably isn’t a more beautiful portrait of friendship in all the Bible regarding friendship than that which is found in John 13:1, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Just hours before Jesus was to suffer an agonizing death upon the Cross, the apostle John writes, “He (Jesus) loved them (His disciples) to the end.”
The word “end” in the Greek language here speaks of fulfilling which in reality means without end. Our daughter has an expression she uses to convey that thought to her children when she says to her son Charlie, “I love you to the moon and back.” Jesus love for His disciples (including you and me) has never vacillated, it has never failed and most of all, it will never end.
Friendships are as unique as the people who share them, some last but for a season while others exist for a reason but the best ones are the ones that last a lifetime. Below are 7 reminders regarding friendship. Countless interviews on friendship have been done through the years. Here are just 7 that stand out from the crowd.
1. Your Best Friends Love You For You. There is an old saying that comes to mind, “Love People, Use Things” because our world has this backwards as the world uses us for our stuff then discards us and moves on to someone else.
Friendships should be our most valuable possession. Poet Emily Dickenson, wrote “My friends are my estate.” (my social standing or status).
2. Your Best Friends Listen. Your best friends have the biggest ears. Not for gossip but for confession, for pouring out our sorrows and sharing in whatever life brings our way. Studying the book of Job I borrowed someones copy of an old Chuck Swindoll’s commentary on the book of Job, “Why Bad Things Happen To Good People” and it said regarding Job chapter 2-3, “Jobs friends heard his words but did not feel the anguish of his heart, and they took the wrong approach to helping him handle his trials.” Have you ever met someone who you knew before you listened to them you would like what you would hear? That’s the making of a good friendship.
Chuck Swindoll tells this story about one of his daughters when she was quite small. One day he came home tired from a long day of ministry. As he sat in his easy chair in front of a relaxing football game, hoping to catch the last half in peace, his young daughter approached him and began jabbering as fast as she could. Vainly trying to enjoy the game, Chuck said, “Honey, slow down. You’re talking too fast.” Quick as a whip, the child responded, “No Daddy, I’m not talking too fast. You are listening too slow!”
Psalm 91:15 says, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”
Isaiah 65:24 goes on to say, “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
3. Your Best Friends Protect You. Your true friends will always protect you. This is where casual friendships are separated from deep lasting ones. A couple of quotes that come to mind are, “A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.” Walter Winchell. Here’s a humorous definition, “Your friends won’t come visit you in prison because they will already be there with you.” The point is true friends don’t sell out. Proverbs 17:9 says, “He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.”
4. Your Best Friends Love You, Warts And All. Hang around people for any length of time and you will undoubtedly end up saying or doing something that in many circles “can and will be used against you” but when it happens among friends maybe Lawrence Peters says it best, “you can tell a real friend by the fact that when you’ve made a fool of yourself he or she doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.”
One of my personal favorite quotes on friendship is by Dinah Craik, a poem she wrote, “Friendship: “O, the comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words – but pouring them right out – just as they are – chaff and grain together – Certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them – Keep what is worth keeping – And with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” So beautifully and eloquently spoken.
5. Your Best Friends Bring Out The Best In You. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Translated it means they make you smile.
6. Your Best Friends Bring Out The Jesus In You. I love the quote, “A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts who you’ve become and still gently invites you to grow.”
“A true friend is not necessarily the one you play with but the one you pray with.”
7. Your Best Friends Express Their Love and Friendship. The bible says, “open rebuke is better than hidden love” and it’s true. Your best friends are not afraid to express their love in both words and deeds. After all, isn’t that the way Jesus loves us. He told us He loved us and He showed us by going to the Cross for us and dying in our place.
People ask how much did Jesus really love us? To God they say, “How much do you love me?” Jesus answered when He spread out His arms on Calvary’s Cross and said, “This much” and then He died.
Jesus Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). No one has ever loved us like Jesus does. Oh what a friend we have in Jesus.
There you have it, friends, 7 friendship factors to keep in mind as you cultivate your own life long friendships.
“A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity”
Proverbs 17:17
I LOVE YOU!
Recent
Archive
2021
January
Test PositiveHow Not To ForgetYour Best Year EverRelationship Over RulesKeep The Main Thing The Main ThingBonding FiresTake Me To ChurchWeight Gain Is GoodNot Seeing Is Believing Everything You Need To KnowLove Wins!Servants Not Slaves8 P's and 7 B'sWhat The World Needs NowThe World Is Falling... Into Place10 Minutes That Change The WorldHow To Kill A ButterflyWhat's The Score?You Can Know For SureWe Need A Good Wind StormThe Little Things
February
The Power of KindnessThe Cure For WorryThe Truth; The Whole Truth; And Nothing But The TruthGod UnderstandsDefining MomentsBetter Than NewLittle's Make Big'sOne Hour Could Change Your WorldInstructions With PicturesGrow Through ItFire and IceA Sweet Sweet SoundThe Way Up Is DownThe Gift of YouThe Cure For DepressionA Flower In Life's SidewalkLets Be FriendsOur Secret WeaponLove Win'sAll Gave Some, Some Gave All
2020
January
February
March
Why We Can Be FriendsBe What You Want Other's To BeThere Is A Song In Your HeartThe Afterward of FailureWhy God WhispersDon''t Worry, Be Happy!I Can See Clearly NowI'm In It For The Long HaulTrade In Your Fears For PeaceDaddy Hold YouThe EndA Guy Can't Just Sit AroundThe Birthday Boy!Worry Never WorksPromises PromisesTwenty Inches From BlissFit From HomeThe Silver Lining of SufferingThe Gift of PainDo Not Be Afraid
April
Two Tickets To ParadiseI'll Trade YouNo Substitute For TrustOur Greatest NeedHope DispensersYour Finest HourDreams Do Come True!How To Survive A PandemicFeeling ChippieThe Good In Good Friday!The Dark Before The DawnHow Stars Are BornOne A Day, And Leap Year Too!Please, Breathe On MeYou Can't Afford To WorryChristmas In AprilAre You Jesus?Comfort FoodSocial DistancingNew NormalThe Beauty of SelflessnessThrive Not SurviveDon't Ask Why Ask WhatEmpty Is GoodI Miss Your FaceGet Out Of Jail Free
May
Marriage IS WorkYou Are EssentialThe DestinationCourage Looks Like LoveLive The AmenRelentlessYou're Never AloneOpen For BusinessYour're ContagiousGod's Got Big EarsHigher EducationA Season, A Reason, A LifetimeTo Grope Is DopeYou PickWomen Like GodMaking A DifferenceOne Way LoveBlessed To BlessPeople God Uses
June
How To Defeat RacismDon't Be An AnimalJesus IS The AnswerBefore Not AfterDreams Do Come True!ImagineTell It Like It Can BePeace MakersHold OnThe Name Above ALL NamesThe Real You!Don\'t Lose Your PassionA Tale of Four Father\'sJust Do It For Jesus!IfIn or Out?Stay FocusedPriorities MatterGod's Green Thumb
July
August
Whistle While You WorkDon't Worry, Be Happy!Holy Moly, Just Look At You!You Can Do Hard ThingsJoy Is On The Way!Why Not Me?What's Your Backstory?ForgivenessJesus Is Our RainbowJesus In, Jesus OutThe 7 Factors of FriendshipBecause of YouLord, Teach Me To PrayHopeless End or Endless Hope?The Stress RelieverDefining MomentsA Supernaturally Scheduled DayWho's In Your Boat?
September
Hang In There 5 Minutes More!You Can Do It!What You See is What You GetMountains Were Made To ClimbLet Go, Let GodThe Third OptionWhat Will You Be?Better Than New!You Are A Best Seller!Heaven On EarthPray, Don't PreyTo love Is To ObeyIf I Could Live My Life Over AgainLet It Shine!Need A Hug?A Beautiful MessRun Through The TapeCause and EffectLife Is The PitsJust Say Yes
October
How To Have A RevivalLord, Teach Us To PrayBroken and BeautifulWhy God WhispersDig DeepThings Are Not As They AppearChildlike FaithGreat JobWhat On Earth Am I Here ForSafe In God's HandYou Be JesusYou Never Have To Advertise A FireRetraining ElephantsMission PossibleGo Nuts Today!Don't Hide The CracksOne Step AheadWho's Your Caddy?THINKPeter's Favorite PsalmFound Together
November
Success Through FailureNo FearAgainst All OddsGod Works For You But Not For YouThe Worship of TearsThank God For FleasHow To Thank A VeteranSoar Like An EagleOne Out Of TenHow To Get Through A StormCling OnKeep SwingingChoose Winning!The BlessingLessons From My Washing MachineHow To Put Happy Into Your ThanksgivingWe Exist To AppreciateThe Gift That Keeps On Giving
December
Peace On EarthHope In The DarkLessons From Long LinesHe's Making A List And Checking It TwiceKeep Rolling!You Have A ReservationWhen Heaven Met EarthThe Great Gift ExchangeA Thrill of HopeThe Real DealThe Perfect GiftFace Your FearsWinning Over WorryStability From A StableThe "awe" of HeavenJoy That LastsMessage From The MangerChristmas In Three WordsLook Up Not ForwardJust Because
2019
February
Heavenly RemindersThings Are Not Always As They AppearZihuatanejoSatisfied Wanting MoreGet In The Game!Always The Nails, Never The HammerA Four Footed EnemyAll InWhat's Love Got To Do With It?Lessons From A LeperLessons From A Former LeperNo MatchYour Mess Is Your MessageLessons From Your GPS"Ooooo ooooo ohoohohoo"Jesus MarveledShe Walks In BeautyShaken or Stirred?Bring The Rain
March
I Can't Love You AnymoreThe Gift of AttentivenessWha't Outside Your Tent?I'll Carry YouIt’s Worth The PainWorship On The BrainA Door of HopeGet Busy LivingHow Knowledge Becomes Power Please Do Not DisturbNew Normal5 Minutes LongerOur Conquering KingA Matter of PerspectiveAge Old WisdomFaith Your FearsThe Best Day Of Your Life… Starts Now!Who Grace Looks LikeHow To Have Lifetime JoyTo Know You Is To Love YouMistaken Identity
April
Life After The End Of The RopeLet's Get RealWhy God Made MountainsForgive And ForgetLoving You Is EasySweetly Broken Keep The Main Thing The Main ThingKnow God Know PeaceWisdom Never Gets OldOut of the WhirlwindMonday: A Pure and Holy PassionTuesday: The Passion Of JesusThe Passion Week: WednesdayJesus Love From Head To ToeFriday: The Passion JesusThe Ta-da of HeavenWhat's The World Coming To?A Love InvasionThe Gift of YouI'm With You AlwaysHow Is Your Balance?Bring The Rain
May
In Regards To HeavenHope WinsIshteeLove Is A VerbFinishing WellYour New Favorite BookGod Has No GrandchildrenCrossing GuardsYou Were Made For MomentsLiving Like A Rock StarA Wonder Filled DayLess is MoreAll Washed UpIf Your Child Goes Astray... Pray!Like Parent Like ChildBring Back The KingWith God You ARE The MajorityJesus IS EnoughWe Will RememberYou Are Stronger Than You ThinkEscape ArtistsYou Can't Back Into Your FutureThe Worship of Tears
June
For HankGod's 'GPS'A Friend Like YouDesire Discipline DelightDesire, Discipline, DelightYou Be JesusYour WorthA Living Love StoryThe Gift of GraceThe Power of AmenA Dad For All SesonsStuck On YouJust OneI Hope You DanceIt's Your Turn To ShineGlorious Day!Ancient Social MediaA Door of HopeLiving Like JesusPlease, Don't Shoot The Messenger!
July
Flawed Instruments Glorify GodHelp Is On The WayMay You Always Remain As You Are TodayOne Nation Under GodDivine AppointmentsDon't Trip Over Your PastWho's Counting?ShineLove Is A VerbBig Shoes To FillYou Never Have To Advertise A FireLet The Walls Fall DownOne Small Step, One Giant LeapOur God Rocks!Stirred To ActionThe Power of LoveTo Know Him Is To Love HimJesus Loves Pizza
August
September
October
Broken and BeautifulIn The Hands of The PotterRecognitionExtraordinarily OrdinaryBonded By A BonfireColor EverywhereWords To Live ByThe Best of MeJust Say YesChoose HappyThe Best Weekend Ever!Three Yet OneJust KISSGame ChangerHow To Beat An Escape RoomIt's What's Inside That CountsWhen Longer Isn't Long EnoughThe Whisperer
November
The Healing Power of a HugA Work In ProgressThe Best Day of Your Life Starts... NowYou Have Beautiful EyesLord, Teach Me To PrayFive Star FaithDebt Free LivingWhen Close Isn't Close EnoughHave I Got Something Just For You!Perfect In Any LightYour Strength Is Your WeaknessIt's Only A TestYou're Living An Adventure
Slow The PaceThe Art of AppreciationLasting MemoriesBlack Friday Saved My Life
Categories
no categories