Another week has passed and while it was not particularly stressful it has been full of reasons to be thankful. for there are friendships that you have that so important that when you have a little glitch in them things seem to get out of sync in your life (i had such an episode this week lol), there are friends that do not need constant attention to sustain; friends you don't see for years, meet then a couple a years down the line and be like; next page! a friend of mine said something very  profound and i just assumed was one of those cliche's that people read in a book and quote he said;

friends ; is Gods way of taking care of us, making sure that we are not alone

At the time that i first heard this quote, i didn't really fully appreciate the profundity of this statement as i have grown older and seen more Christmases i have come to have a new understanding how much friends contribute (literarily) to our sanity and success. there are friends who cry with us,pray with us, sing with us, stand with us, walk with us, believe with us and maybe be even more importantly believe in us. strange isn't it how we can take flack from just about anybody but crumble when we get even a watered down version of it from those that are close to us.case in point; In Shakespeare's Julius Cesare, we remember the line "...even you Brutus..." i don't think Cesare was hurt by the swords that were mercilessly plunging into his flesh he knew what he was up against in the senate,but to have his closet friend lay one into him probably took the stuffing out of him, at the other end of the friendship line is the biblical story of David and Jonathan, that expresses it depth in the lament of David when he found out about the death of his beloved friend in II Samuel 1vs 25. the friendship survived long after the death of Jonathan revealed in II Samuel 9 vs 1 where he asks if there was anyone who he could show kindness to in loyalty to the love of his friend Jonathan.

looking at all of this,  the question arises; what makes for a good friend?  how do i become a good friend to my own friends? what qualities do people look for in a friend?

A quick survey will reveal that most people consider shared interests and compatibility as boxes that must be ticked, similar social status also is a thing that counts for something in some friendships, a shared world view makes for understanding among peers. from my observation and in my experience, i think the most important quality in a friendship is loyalty and understanding. With both of these qualities in attendance , the aforementioned ones pale into insignificance or rather are placed on the back burner.

Marriage vows have these lines; "...for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health..."  in my opinion, the four of them cover everything that life will throw at you. to have someone who will stick with you or stand by you in either extreme is in itself a blessing of inestimable value. we expects our friends to be there for us in our time of tears, to believe in us in our time of trial, to stand by us through our storms, to root or cheer of us when everyone around us thinks we've lost our marbles. strangely though, although its not something we all admit at first we expect our friends to be able to tell us the truth as hard and hurting as it can turn out to be (with love of course). nothing hurts more than being surrounded by a bunch of sycophants who have no sort of criticism and make huge errors. We would be most deluded if we actively sought out people who would do this for us(check out the kind of people that dictators have around  them). A friend is the one person who will drag you into the mens room and tell you off but come out with his/her hands around you shoulders. thinking about this a line from a movie comes to mind ... this is a totaly stupid idea but if you are sure it'll make you happy i'm with you 100%... it just about sums what a friends position should be. if you have such a friend or are such a friend you are blessed.

 the point i'm trying to make is; we rise and fall based on who our friends are how far we go to a large extent depends on who we have running with us. There are several examples in the scriptures that make clear to us  how we can rise or fall by our associates of friends i'll give a few examples;

I kings21 vs 25 speaks of how king Ahab was urged to evil by his wife

II Samuel 13 tell of how Davids son Ammon lost his life after rather interesting advice from his friend

I kings 12 tells of how the heir to the most financially buoyant kingdom in the worlds history threw it all away

because of his friends

I Samuel 20 tells of how Davids throne was secured because of his friendship with Jonathan.

there are several stories in both the bible and the world we live in today about the triumphs and disasters that have been brought about my friendships, they go a long way to let us know that, friendship is a make or break issue in our lives. let us strive to be better friends to those to whom we are friends. time will fail me to talk about the strength that having a confidant gives us, that is for another blog

I've got a good feeling about this week. lets go out there and give it our best shot.

have fun y'all