Proverbs 17:17 AMPC
[17] A friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity.
The Context and Focus:
Again, welcome to the book of one-line messages, where every sentence is a message on its own. Today's verse is a lesson on human relationships and engagements, and a testament to God's power and wisdom in the way He has set up life itself. There is a reason why human life, in its natural form, does not start without the coming together of two different elements. As long as it is human life you want to form, there has to be an agreement between two different parts coming together. Throughout the entire human life too, there will be opportunities for even more interactions between different parts and people. From birth to death, it is a complex web of interpersonal relationships, some which will turn out well, and some which will end badly. Some will work for a season, and then fall apart for no obvious reasons, whilst others will remain strong through all the storms or winds that may rise up against them.
The Message:
This is the stuff friends are made of and for. A definition of friend that works is: 'a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations'. This tells me that friends go beyond this usual family set up, or even the temporary pleasure derived from sexual relations. Even family members quarrel and do not talk to each other for years. There is also no guarantee that people who have enjoyed sexual intercourse will ever become or remain good friends. Friends go beyond that which can be quantified in monetary terms. There is a bond that time can only make stronger, because what brings you together and keeps you as friends would always be stronger and greater than all the things that make you different from each other. In fact, it is those differences that make the bond even stronger, because you are able to view the same challenge from different perspectives. As nice as the above sounds, the big question is: 'am I this kind of friend?'
The Conclusion:
It is always easy to place a demand on other people to live up to the definition of friends, but am I willing to also play my own part? Can I be trusted to play my part in the definition, doing all I can to show I can be depended on when the need arises? The reason why this is important is because, as the verse above makes clear, the value of a friend, just like a brother, is seen and appreciated in the days of adversity. It is easy to make and remain as friends when all is fine and rosy, but how many people remain true when there is no 'monetary' value to give? When problems show up and things get tight, can I still be trusted to show up when others need me to? True friends, as God intends it to be, are able to love at all times, because love isn't so much about what I can get, but what I have to give. God's grace makes it possible for me to have even it is a word of encouragement at the right time, or a shoulder to lean or cry on, or just my mere presence when trouble comes, can make the difference between giving in or pressing on for a friend. What kind of a friend am I? Am I fit for the challenges of this present times? God's time of favour is here.
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