Friendship is one of the most precious and sought after blessings of human relationships. As with any urgently felt need, there are pitfalls associated with the pursuit of friendship. These will provide the subject matter of next week’s bulletin article. However, when we focus on the responsibilities of friendship, many of the pitfalls are easily avoided.
In our first article in this series, we mentioned that true friendship involves giving what needs to be given. This may be as simple as an act of kindness or a sympathetic ear. But one thing is certain, genuine friendship is not about getting what we want but giving what needs to be given. Then, in our second article, we mentioned a less known aspect of true friendship–offering helpful correction. A true friend will not let you harm yourself without making an effort to point you in the right direction.
In addition to these two responsibilities, a genuine friend is one who will share what needs to be shared. This begs the question: “How can we share friendship without also sharing the gospel?”
Good news is meant to be shared. And, of all the people, our friends ought to be the ones with whom we are most anxious to share the gospel. Admittedly, some may not be ready to receive the gospel when first we mention it to them. But, we should persist in prayerfully and purposefully using our influence to lead our friends to Jesus. We must not be so afraid of losing our friends that we allow them to face eternity unprepared without having given them opportunity to hear the gospel. In the haunting words of one of our hymns, we would not want to hear a friend say to us on the day, “You never mentioned Him to me!”
In Mark chapter five, Jesus healed a man who had been possessed by thousands of demons. As Jesus was departing the region, the man who had been delivered from his demon-possession begged to go along with Him. But Jesus turned him down, saying, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you” (Mk. 5:19). The King James Version renders Christ’s statement in this way: “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” With whom should we be more eager to share the good news of what Jesus has done for us than to our friends?
Friends have a responsibility to give what needs to be given; correct what needs to be corrected; and share what needs to be shared. These are the responsibilities of being a true friend.