Facebook says I have 715 “friends.” Some are casual friends and others are good friends.  A good friend is one you can share your life with -your feelings, thoughts and frustrations. A good friend is one you can work with, share time with, and is patient with you. I cannot imagine living without good friends.

Everyone needs good friends. We need the positive influence they provide and the help and support in our troubling times. Proverbs 17:17a says, “A friend loves at all times” and will make sacrifices for you. Jesus is the perfect example of that (John 15:13).

Yes, we have to be careful about the influences around us (1 Corinthians 15:33).  We want good influences from a good friend. A good friend will be honest with you and not tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear (Proverbs 27:6,9).  Here again, Jesus does that for us.

As the song says, “What a friend we have in Jesus.”

– Rob Albright