What is a true friend? A true friend is someone who’s always there for you. He gives you unconditional support and helps you see who you really are. He holds you accountable and always encourages you, building you up to be the man you were meant to be.
Where do I get that picture of a true friend? It’s not inspired by any real friends in my own life, even though I have a few great friends who do those things for me.
And I’m not fleshing out the idea of a perfect friend with a set of ideal characteristics, either. Psychology Today, for example, has these essential traits of friendship:
- Trustworthiness
- Honesty
- Dependability
- Loyalty
- Trustworthiness
- Empathy
- Humility
- Attentive
- Supportive of Others
- Confident
- Humourous
- Fun
I get it from Jesus, who gave us the perfect example of a true friend with his life on earth. He exhibited all those traits listed by Psychology Today (including a good sense of humor) and so many more at a standard that no one else could.
5 Ways Jesus Modelled True Friendship
- Non-judgmental: Jesus hung out with the sinners and courageously saved a woman from a self-righteous, blood-thirsty mob. He asked His Father to forgive the very people who had him killed. He forgave His friends: Peter for denying Him and Thomas for doubting Him.
- Honesty: Jesus never deceived, but always revealed the truth instead. He even called out his friend Peter for losing sight of their mission to save humanity.
- Empathy: When He saw his friends weeping over the death of their friend Lazarus, Jesus, who knew he could and would raise him from the dead, felt their pain and wept alongside them.
- Selfless: Jesus served his disciples. He sacrificed His life so that sinners like you and me could have eternal life.
- Dependable: He constantly looked out for his followers and disciples in life. He huddled up with them and created a deep bond. Now, He looks after us with a personal relationship and unconditional love.
He will be your true friend if you invite Him into your life (if you have not already). Spend time with him like you would with your real friends. Sometimes, hang out with Jesus one-on-one to get closer to him and grow spiritually. Other times, get a group together to spend time with Him and build a brotherhood of deep friendships.
How do you apply Jesus’ example and become a true friend to others?
It’s important to turn a few of your friends into true friends. As someone who’s dedicated 30 years of my life to helping men form deep friendships, I realized there was a proven path they could follow.
Few people have all the traits that Jesus modelled and no one does it perfectly like He did. The key to being a true friend is making a commitment to help each other get closer to Jesus’ example. That means you meet regularly and go deep. You disclose your dreams, struggles, and everything in between. You go through life together.
Are you ready to live by Jesus’ example and be a true friend to others?
Build Deeper Friendship with MenHuddle.
If you’re looking to deepen friendship and mutual mentoring, check out the PLAYBOOK FOR LEVEL 5 FRIENDSHIP—a guide that will help you connect with other men in a meaningful way and catalyze spiritual growth in each other’s lives.
