How many friends have you got?
I’ve got an ex-campus mate who’s got nearly 5,000 friends on his Facebook friend list. I doubt if he knows all of them. He might well call them acquaintances instead of friends. Just a few days ago, Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author of The Alchemist, wrote on his wall about a complaint he heard. A friend of his told him, “I feel so lonely and surreal; I’ve got 20,000 friends on Facebook, 2,000 on Twitter, but my phone never rings during weekends!”
What irony!
For me, personally, friendship is something very precious and valuable, something extremely serious. It’s nearly as serious as marital bond and, on some points, even more serious than a relationship. It comprises a great deal of commitment, loyalty, trust, and interdependence. It’s tested through hardship, sorrow, and sacrifices – as much as there are joy, laughter, and fun within it.
Jesus Himself laid out the ultimate standard of friendship in John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this: that he lays down his life for his friends.”
How amazing! What a challenge it is to become a true friend through and through!
If we measure ourselves with the above-mentioned standard, we will realize (and be embarrassed) that our commitment to friendship really is far from adequacy. There are yet so many flaws we need to fix in order to be a good friend.
Let’s introspect ourselves – and start learning to be a true friend, today!
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