40acts: Ready to ActSample

Sunday Reflection

Friendship is one of the great joys of life and also the source of a lot of pain and making new friends doesn’t necessarily get easier in adulthood. Proverbs has a lot to say on this matter – it is ancient wisdom that has stood the test of time and speaks powerfully into an era where the word ‘friend’ has been co-opted and degraded by Facebook.

Proverbs tells us that a good friend is faithful in adversity (17:17). To stick by someone when they suffer is costly. When we care for someone, we hurt when they hurt; it is easier to sidle off somewhere less risky. 

Proverbs tells us a good friend is reliable (18:24). This might mean something as small as showing up on time or keeping a confidence, or as major as promising to accompany a friend to all their hospital appointments and still doing it when they have more than either of you could have predicted. 

Proverbs tells us that a good friend takes the risk of telling hard truths (27:5–6). Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to say something that we know will hurt at first but which in the long run will help. This is a scary thing to do because our friend may lash out or withdraw. But ‘iron sharpens iron’ (27:17) and an honest friend can enable growth in maturity and character.

Cultivating strong friendships is better insurance than any you can buy on the open market. Most of us are happy to be generous to our friends, and this week’s 40acts challenges shouldn’t be too hard for that reason. Let’s not forget, though, that Jesus challenges us to love not only our friends but our enemies (Matthew 5:44).