Christian Bible Lesson 89: Treasure Friends

Bible Verses

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”   Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.´  Luke 6:31

“Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.”   Proverbs 27:10

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  John 15:15

Christian Bible Lesson Overview

It is so important to treat your friends properly.  As the Bible Verses suggest, we should treat our friends better than we expect them to treat us.  Having friends that you can trust in many situations is as important as family members. 

Sometimes it seems challenging to support a friend when they are not doing everything they can for you.  However, during the time when you really need another person to be there for you, you appreciate the friendships you developed. 

Many people help others for the majority of their lives because they care about their friends.  Then a time comes when they rely on friendships to help them through challenges.  We all need to be available when our friends are in need.

Christian Bible Lesson for Today

I had two very special friends in my life.  One friend, Ray, was a fellow football player on my high school team.  We were close friends and provided support for each other.  We lived about 500 miles from each other after we completed high school.  I stayed in touch with Ray until we were over forty years old.  Then I became too involved with my business life and stopped contacting him.  He stopped contacting me as well.

My second special friend was Mark.  I met Mark about a year after I started my business.  We were both the same age, twenty-six.  Mark had some financial challenges, so I helped him with a steady income.  We became great friends for many years.  Mark actually lived at my house and provided a lot of help in my business.  I loaned Mark some money to purchase a car.  A couple of years later Mark became sick and moved to Oregan to live with his brother.  I asked Mark to pay me for the car.  He said that he already paid me through the company.  We got into an argument and Mark left. 

I was not in touch with either Ray or Mark for a couple of years.  Then I reviewed the accounting for my company to prepare for a tax return and I discovered that Mark did pay me for the car.  I felt so awful.  I tried to call Mark, but the number had been disconnected.  I found his brother’s phone number and called the brother.  Mark’s brother told me that Mark died three months earlier.  I was devasted.  I treated Mark so poorly and now it was too late.

Then I tried to call my friend Ray and learned from his sister that he had been very sick for the past seven years and that he died a few months earlier.  Ray did not contact me because he was too ill.  I was devasted by both friendships at about the same time. 

I should have treated them properly even though I thought Mark owed me money and I thought Ray just quit contacting me.  If I treated them properly, we would have all had a better life.  It is so important to develop friendships and keep them.

Christian Bible Lesson Summary

Sometimes it may seem like maintaining friendships is too much effort.  I can assure you that it is important to always support your friends even if you think they are not supporting you at the moment.  Please do not do what I did and neglect one of your most important assets, friends.