The word friend is defined as "one attached to another by affection, regard, or esteem; an intimate acquaintance." Jesus defined friendship this way: "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. . . . I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you" (Jn. 15:14-15).

A friend is one to whom we can tell everything and who will never betray a confidence. A true friend will not say anything that injures us. When we hear a group of Christians finding fault with other believers, we may wonder what they say about us when we're not present.

A true friend is one who knows all about us and loves us just the same. A young boy defined such a friend as "somebody who sticks to you after he has found you out."

A friend is one in whose presence we can be ourselves without the fear of being misunderstood. That person will not talk behind our back but is one to whom we can bare the secrets of our heart, knowing that we will not be betrayed. Such a friend is Jesus, the One who perfectly fulfills Solomon's words: "A friend loves at all times" (Prov. 17:17).

What kind of friend are you?  — M.R. De Haan