Alva Review-Courier -

You probably would say one of the greatest blessings comes in recognizing the importance of good friendships. You know that you will excel when you have good friends or life will go harder without caring friends. You also realize that finding good friends does not come easy.

One of the greatest tragedies comes when we put our faith in a friend who we dearly love and they let us down. They turn their back on us and betray us. We make a decision that we will never love again or seek a strong, authentic friendship, but we can’t make it without good friends. We know we are only fooling ourselves if we think we can make it on our own.

A young lady named Charlotte had a rare honesty on social media. When someone says something outragous about one of her friends or someone else, she firmly but gently dissents. She works for strong friendships and will not let others weaken those friendships. We want to say, “Oh, the beauty and power of a true friend.”

The last week of Christ’s life, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, came and anointed the feet of Jesus with an extremely costly perfume. It would cost about a year’s wages. Mary poured this perfume on Christ’s head and feet and then wiped His feet with her hair. The people deeply criticized her for extravagance.

Christ replied to their sharp criticisms, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mark 14:6). She dearly loved Jesus and she knew that Jesus was going to give His life for her – a mark of a true friend.

The cost of friendship comes at the price of a willingness to die to self and give our best for others. When you do, you will have one of the greatest treasures in all the world: authentic friendship. Try it and see if it is not true.