A Friend Closer Than a Brother

Proverbs 18:24

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Does that picture speak to you?

Look closely. Take in the wet, dirty floor and coarse walls. Smell the dank, musty air.  See the weeds growing up, seeking to block the view beyond.  Even the body of water upon which those boys gaze looks dirty.

That's life, sometimes.

Not every path is paved in gold, view of the future unobstructed, nor seas as clear as crystal.

Life gets messy, and that's a fact.

We all need someone we can count on.

You will hit hard times. We all do. Maybe--probably--you already have. The last thing you want when you are wading through the muck of life is to do it alone. And let's face it, when the proverbial crap hits the proverbial fan, how many of your companions are going to weather the storm with you?

Not very many.

You need someone who will stick with you, no matter what. That friend or friends who are willing to jump down in the pit with you. Who are willing to do whatever, endure whatever, experience whatever comes but will never, ever leave your side. They're willing to fight. They're willing to lose. They're willing to die, if that's what you need from them.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

We all need a friend like that.

Jesus already did it.

Those words in John 15 were spoken by Jesus. He knew what He was going to do. And in the previous verse He said: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

Jesus told us--no, commanded us to love each other as He loved us. And then, then He defines that love as being willing to die for our friends, just as He was.

That's a tough act to follow. 

To have that, you must be that.

Do you have a friend who would be willing to die for you? Before you answer, let me ask another question. Are you a friend who would die for someone else?

I have a short list of friends for whom I would give my life. I say short because, honestly, that's the way it is. The reason I'd be willing to die for them? I believe they'd do the same for me. Pray God such a day never comes, but if it does, I will not face it alone.

And neither would they.

Closer than a brother.

I don't know the true story behind the picture above, but I know what it says to me. Those young men are close, closer than even brothers. Sitting together in the muck and the mire, they face the ugliness together. No matter what, one will not leave the other. Ever.

That's friendship.