Trusting In God For Friends

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

Two young men, best friends since childhood, enlisted together in World War I. Their outfit came under a withering attack, and one of the men was mortally wounded. His friend crawled out amid the fire to rescue him and was mortally wounded himself. When he made it back to the trenches with the body of his friend, the rescuer was told he had wasted his life to reach a dead man. “It was worth it,” he said. “The last thing my friend said before he died was, ‘I knew you’d come, Jim.’ ”

These two men had the kind of friendship that Proverbs speaks about and that Jesus made reference to: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Those closest to God, like Abraham and the disciples of Jesus, were referred to as “friends” (James 2:23; John 15:15). In both cases, friendship meant being told the very plans and purposes of God. And in both cases, these friends repaid God’s friendship with the highest human value: loving loyalty. Gaining loyal friends takes time, but you can start today by being a loyal friend yourself.

How good a friend are you? Think of a way this week to confirm your loyalty to those you value most.