Being a real friend may be very vital. As Christians, we must always be real friends to others, yet we now have all been around those that don’t seem sincere friends, or perhaps we ourselves haven’t been real friends. The best approach to have a friend is to be a friend to others.
Jesus wants us to be friends with all people, yet even Jesus had the inner three of Peter, James, and John (Mark 5:37). The importance of being a real friend can’t be stressed enough; subsequently, we’re going to be discussing the importance of being a real friend.
Being a Genuine Friend
In order to have a friend, you’ve gotten to be a friend. We need to be willing to take a position in our friendships and be real with them. Fake friends are usually not true friends, and so they might be toxic to our own mental health.
I actually have personally had many fake friends, who weren’t real, and so they made me query myself, my value, and my identity in Christ. If a friend ever causes you to query your personal value or your identity in Christ, you are usually not under any obligation to stay within the friendship.
The Lord doesn’t want you to be involved in unhealthy friendships that can inflict pain, sin, or brokenness in your relationship with Him. If you’ve gotten personally experienced fake friends, know that not all people can be fake friends.
Sadly, even Christians might be fake friends. As much as I hate to say this, it’s true. Many of the Christian friends I had weren’t real and would discuss me behind my back, make me feel bad about myself, and begin rumors about me.
If you understand this is occurring in your life, that you must cut ties with these “friends.” They are usually not your true friends. Do not assume that simply because an individual is a Christian that it mechanically means they’re an awesome friend.
We normally can trust our gut feelings to assist us decipher who our true friends are. Also, spending time with them and having deep conversations are great ways to have the opportunity to find real, real friends.
Many Christians imagine Christians can’t be friends with unbelievers, but that shouldn’t be true. While it’s true that Christians mustn’t marry unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), the Bible never tells us that we cannot make friends with unbelievers.
In fact, Christians should extend friendship to unbelievers to assist them come to know Christ and easily to be real, caring friends. If an unbeliever can tell a Christian shouldn’t be being real, it’s going to steer them away from Christ.
As Christians, we’re Jesus’ lights of the world, and we’re the visible manifestation of Jesus’ love for the world (Matthew 5:14-16). If unbelievers view Christ’s followers as being insincere of their friendships, what is going to they consider Christ?
They will view Him as being insincere and never real. As we will see, this does an awesome disservice to Christ because we must always extend His real friendship, love, and kindness — not a fake smile.
Trust me, unbelievers and believers alike can see through those that are usually not real friends. This is why it’s vital that we’re real friends who care about those around us, believers and unbelievers alike.
Honesty and Trust
An important aspect of being a real friend is present in the muse of honesty and trust. All relationships must be founded on trust. If a person is just a friend to someone simply just to look “nice” or “friendly,” others will have the opportunity to see through the fake smile and faux attitude.
We need to be honest in our approach to others and truly care about others. In addition to honesty, we want to have the opportunity to indicate that we might be trusted. Genuine friendships can’t be formed other than trust.
We are usually not going to willingly commit to a friendship if the friendship shouldn’t be built on trust. Therefore, in our friendships, we want to increase honesty and show ourselves to be trustworthy.
Loving Others
Jesus tells us directly, “By this everyone will know that you just are my disciples, for those who love each other” (John 13:35).
The Lord also tells us, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and with all of your strength.’ The second is that this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is not any commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
From these passages of Scripture, Jesus tells us the importance of loving others. This is crucial for friendships — that we love each other as Jesus loves us. Love shouldn’t be a sense but fairly a selection.
When we elect to like our friends, we glance out for their very own interests, encourage them, and help them of their walk with the Lord. As Paul tells us, we must be consistently increase one another within the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Loving others is the hallmark of the Christian walk, as that is how others will know that we’re followers of Christ. In our real friendships, we want to increase love, support, and encouragement.
The world has polluted and overused the word “love” to the purpose that it has a distorted meaning. Loving others means putting one other person’s needs above your personal.
Jesus showed us the final word demonstration of His love for us by dying on the cross to redeem us from our sins (John 3:16-17).
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, all people can receive salvation by placing faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. What is a greater approach to be a real, real friend than to share the message of the gospel and live it out in your on a regular basis life?
Loving others is crucial to being a real friend because you’re caring concerning the needs of the opposite person over your personal.
This is essential to do in our own lives because the Bible tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not trying to your personal interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
New Beginnings
Being a real friend is incredibly vital in our modern-day society, where fake friends are available waves. It is simple to be trapped within the cycle of faux friends, however it takes courage to step out of the cycle and truly find real friends.
As stated, we now have to be a friend with a view to have friends. True, real friends care about others and extend Jesus’ love, kindness, and forgiveness. When we’re real friends, others will migrate to us because they know we love Christ and truly love others.
If you’ve gotten struggled with fake friends or feel like you’ve gotten not been a real friend to others, there are steps you may take to enhance your friendships. If you’ve gotten struggled with fake friends, know that your past experience with fake friends doesn’t mean that every one individuals are like this.
There are true friends on the market, though they’re hard to search out. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you’ve gotten found that you’ve gotten not been a real friend prior to now, rest within the knowledge which you can start recent today.
Extend Jesus’ love, kindness, and forgiveness to others, and check out to be a real friend to others. As Christians, we now have the assistance of the Holy Spirit to assist us, guide us, and direct us. There is a recent start with Jesus, including starting over in our friendships.
For further reading:
What Does the Bible Say about Choosing Friends?
5 Proverbs for Friends When They Disagree
A Godly Friendship Revealed Through Jonathan within the Bible
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