You've Got A Friend

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”


Proverbs 18:24


The title for Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 in my bible reads, “The Value of a Friend.” It says, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

There is something special in friendship, something powerful. Friendship heightens our highs and lessons our lows. Think about it. Just two people working together and living in agreement can do great things! The passage in Ecclesiastes 4 is not talking about marriage but friendship, companionship and the benefits it provides. Some relationships will drain you but true friendship will strengthen and empower you. There is synergy in friendship, a strength no one can know alone. By synergy I mean, one person may lift 50 pounds, while the other, 60 pounds. Together they are able to lift 150 pounds. Friendship always helps us to be able to do more!

The best part of the entire passage to me is what we read next, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Every time I read that passage I am reminded of Jesus words when He said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Consider a piece of thread and put the passage to the test. You can easily snap a single piece of thread with little effort. Two pieces of thread is more difficult. But, take a third piece of thread and wrap it around the other two and it’s nearly impossible to break! That third piece of thread represents Jesus. He is the glue that holds each of us together, it’s Jesus who can join a man and woman in marriage and individuals in friendship.

 And Just think, no one compares to Jesus and the friend we have in Him.  Jesus is the friend that sticks even closer than a brother. Jesus is the friend who will never leave us nor forsake us and nothing can separate us from the love of God thats ours in Christ Jesus. Oh what a friend we have in Jesus!

“A friend loves at all times”

Proverbs 17:17

I LOVE YOU!