First of all, a real friend is willing to tell you the truth. Prov. 27:9 says, "Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man's friend does so by hearty counsel." You see, a real friend will tell you the truth no matter what you ask him. He may not always tell you what you want to hear, but he will always tell you what you need to hear, and he will tell you not to hurt you, but will tell you to help you.
When I go to the doctor and he examines me. If there is something wrong with me, I want to know the truth. If he is my friend, he will tell me the truth, not to hurt me but to help me.
Furthermore, a real friend is willing to confront you when you are wrong. Now a genuine friend will never criticize you behind your back, but if necessary, he will confront you to your face. He will never condemn you when you are wrong, but he will confront you so that he might correct you and help make you right.
Prov. 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." You see, Judas kissed Jesus, but Judas was not his friend.
You need to remember that one of the reasons why God brings a friend into your life, is to sharpen off rough edges that you might have so that you can be all that you can be for His glory and honor. Prov. 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." Now you don't sharpen an axe on a pound of butter, and a real friend will have a sharpening correcting influence on your life.
I will be forever convinced that Richard Nixon lost his presidency because he didn't have one true friend around him. He did not have one person who early on could have said, would have said, and should have said, "Mr. President, this is wrong. You cannot do this. You must do what is right and uphold the law and the Constitution no matter what." One friend could have saved his presidency.
Also, a true friend is willing to bring comfort when you're hurting. It is amazing how many people are willing to be around when you're laughing, but few people come around when you're crying. Did you know that the Indian word for friend translated into English means, "One who carries my sorrows on his back."
Finally, a real friend is someone who is willing to bring light to the dark. That is, a real friend is someone who will talk to you about Jesus if you're lost, and if you need to be saved. You see, the best friend you will ever have is a friend who loves Jesus and who wants you to love Jesus too.
You think about this. If heaven is real, and if hell is real, then no person can possibly be your friend who does not care whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. If you are truly a friend of a sinner, you cannot rest until you have at least given that person an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and as his Savior.
Rosalie Carter wrote a poem once entitled, Only God Gives a Friend, and it goes like this:
I think that God will never send
a gift so precious as a friend;
A friend who always understands
and fills each need as it demands.
Whose loyalty will stand the test
when skies are bright or overcast;
Who sees the faults that merit blame
but keeps on loving just the same.
Who does far more than creeds could do
to make us good, to make us true;
Earth's gifts a sweet contentment lend
but only God can give a friend.
Only God can give a friend, and the greatest friend God will ever give you is the Lord Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." What a friend we have in Jesus, because Jesus laid down His life when we were His enemies, so that we through faith in Him could become His friend. There is nothing like a friend, and there is no friend like Jesus and those who love Him.
