Most people need them. To have them you have to be one. Each friend is different. The degrees of friendship can differ in closeness, varying from life-long loyal best friends, almost from birth, through to acquaintances; and in general, friends are good for us, as long as we choose the right ones.

The rise of social networking has enabled friends to re-connect and rekindle friendships from school days or maintain long-distance connections across the country or across oceans.

Think of your list of friends right now. I guess there are those you couldn’t imagine doing the journey of life without, and then others who are on the periphery and the margins but also bringing value to your life. Maybe friendships are like concentric circles, like a pebble in the pond affect – the inner circle and the outer circles.

Jesus had really good friends; many hundreds of people followed Him and loved Him, then there were those in an inner circle, commonly known as the twelve disciples, and from those twelve he had three closest friends, Peter, James, and John.

Jesus knew the value of true friendship and companionship and was the perfect friend who loved unconditionally and his friends wanted to be with Him.

Sometimes when it was necessary He spoke to His friends with wisdom, insight, and advice; the sort that hits a raw nerve but actually made them think and re-evaluate. Solomon writes in the book of Proverbs 27:6 ‘precious are the wounds of a friend.’

My friends both far and near mean the world to me and I couldn’t imagine life without them! Each one so different and unique, but all adding that something extra special to my life and I’m grateful.

In Proverbs 18:24 we read ‘The one who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’.