This year we made some new friends. Good friends are hard to come by. When I reflect on my friendships, many of them go way back. It takes time to develop good friendships.

Our friendships take on different roles within our lives. I have friends that I can talk to about anything. I have other friends where things like politics might be off the table. Some friends share common interests and others share common parallel lives, where we find ourselves in the same places with our kids. There is a long list of our friendships and the dynamics. For me, a key attribute in friendship, is a friend who offers hope.

Why do we have friends? They offer us hope in our joy. They offer us hope in our struggles. They offer us hope in our journey with Christ.

The Bible talks about friends quite a bit. Proverbs is a great place to find wisdom on friendship. Paul addresses letters to his friends. Most importantly, Jesus calls us His friends. Maybe you recall this question:

Do you have a friend in Jesus?

John 15:13–15 (NIV):
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends… I have called you friends.”

I encourage you to find some friends this weekend, and offer them hope.

Have a great weekend everyone!