To many a friend is someone they said “hi” to at Walmart or met at a party, but that is not what the Bible says. John 15:13 says that no one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. This does not mean that a friend dies and gives up his life, it means that a friend will sacrifice time, money, and plans for someone else.

A friend is closer than a brother as a friend is the one you choose to be with. A friend will share in your pain and your joy. In James 2:23 Yeshua chose to call Avraham a friend because Avraham chose to obey God’s commands which is an echo from Genesis 18:17-19.

A friend is one who is willing to make every effort to understand and empathize, to be humble and serve others with no compromises or conditions. To be the first one to admit he or she might be wrong and fix what ever is causing  friction with others. A friend is the one who will be the first to take up the burden of another as it says “Love your brother as you love yourself”.

If we can love God with all of our might and love those around us as we love ourselves, we fulfill the entire Torah as Yeshua spoke in Matthew 22:36-40.

Featured image by Guillermo Fdez used under the terms of Flickr’s Creative Commons.