If you have ever been in a really tight spot, then you will know who your real fiends are. They are a sub-set of your acquaintances and they are few and far between. A true friendship is something that we only become aware of when the chips are down. When you are in a difficult situation, when you really need help, before you are in despair, without being asked, a friend appears, to be with you. They may not have the answers and they may not know how to help, but they are there to be with you and share the burden as much as they possibly can.
To be a friend therefore is to give of yourself and there are times in life when the privilege of being a friend falls to each of us. So you know that you are being a true friend when you respond without concern about the amount of support the other party needs. You simply make yourself available to do whatever you can, even if it is just to be there enduring the pain with the other person. That’s what friends do.
Self sacrifice is the central act of the Christian faith, of course. Jesus himself said that there was ‘no greater love than that a man should lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). Real friends identify themselves through a kind of self-sacrifice, not usually in the sense of laying down their lives, but in the sense of ignoring self-interest. True friends put themselves out, voluntarily, and they don’t mind that they are the ones who seem to be doing all of the giving. That’s what friendship is about and that’s why true friendship is something to be cherished.
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