Sustaining Good Friendships

Friendship, a state of enduring affection, esteem, and trust between individuals. Though friendships might seem like a cake walk that is effortless and undemanding, but it is not always so. There is a lot of effort, time, energy, sacrifice, patience, understanding, trust, that need to be invested in this beautiful relationship which will further culminate in unbreakable bonds. As C S Lewis says,

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

Tips for Sustaining Good Friendships

  • Effective communication is very essential to build and maintain a solid foundation of friendship (Prov 16:23). A friend is approachable at any point of time and we don’t need to be reluctant in sharing your true feelings, thoughts, and the issues we face in life.

  • A faithful friend will invariably encourage you to progress and help you perceive your strengths and weaknesses. Your friend will not only point out your weaknesses, but also will provide solutions to help you improve in the areas required. Prov 27:6 reminds us, faithful are the wounds of a friend.

  • One of the greatest virtues of friendship is loyalty (Prov 17:17). However miserable the situation might be, a loyal friend will stick with you, hence you can count on him/her in the highs and lows of life.

  • A common interest of two people, bring each other together, thereby friendships are born. As time passes by, you will come to know your friend’s other interests that you might dislike, but in that case, it is good to appreciate the differences.

  • Friendship does not offer you the license to do or say anything you want to, that might offend your friend, but mutual respect is central in all friendships. Healthy boundaries are also essential.

Setting Boundaries

One of the crucial areas you would better not overlook is – you ought to be careful if your friend is a hindrance in your academic excellence, spiritual growth and in some other areas of your life. To keep this from happening, you should be open and lucid about your set standards and where you have drawn your line in certain areas right from the beginning. There is absolutely no harm in enjoying and having fun with our friends, but we should not compromise in our values and priorities and learn to say no to things that may divert or spoil us. We need to be wise in the friendships we choose and sustain (Prov 13:20)

God offers friendship to us as His people. It is not an ordinary friendship; in fact, it is a beautiful relationship.

One of the greatest examples of friendship from the Bible, is the friendship that God offers to us as His people. It is not an ordinary friendship; in fact, it is a beautiful relationship. Christ is the greatest example of a friend whom we can find in the Bible, who could have called those around as servants but He chose to address them as His friends! He loved His friends to an extent that He laid His valuable life for them on the cross. The Bible reminds us we were enemies of God, then we became His friends – Rom 5:10

The True Friend

Jesus is not only my Lord and Saviour but my true friend, who is unchangeable yesterday, today, and forever. I can wholly trust on Him, be honest about everything, and He alone comprehends me fully! I love Him and He always loves me more than that!!

In this world, anyone can let us down at a certain point of time which might be a sudden blow, but Jesus Christ the true friend will never let go of us and we can always count on Him. Our friends might not be present when we hit the rock bottom or when you want to talk to anyone desperately, but Jesus Christ will always be present in any kind of situation, to talk to.

Talking to Jesus and sharing your cares, relieves you from unnecessary stress, anxiety, worry, frustration, and leads you towards the peace which He offers, that transcends our understanding. John 15:13 [NIV] says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” As the world celebrates friendship day, let us remember to value our friends and introduce them to Jesus Christ – our true friend.

S. Wiselyn Amy, is a student in New Delhi, doing her II B.A. English (Hons).