Our Best Friend, God: God on Friendships & Sisterhood

By: Molly Kreikemeier

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17)

I recently came across a quote while on Pinterest stating, "A true friend is not someone we have chosen for ourselves, but rather someone God has placed in our lives for a purpose." This made me reflect on my own friendships. Is it true that everyone God places in our lives serves a purpose?  I am fortunate enough to be blessed with amazing friendships and bonds. Ones who allow me the ability to grow, who hold me accountable for my wrongs, who are loyal and dependable, but most of all, who allow me to be my most vulnerable and authentic self. I wholeheartedly believe every friendship has a purpose: some teach us lessons, some guide us to the next chapter of our lives, some bring light in dark times, and some become lifelong bonds.

Biblically speaking, friendships embody unconditional love. Saints Perpetua and Felicity exemplify this Godly friendship. They were early Christian martyrs in Carthage around 203 AD. Perpetua, a noblewoman, and Felicity, her slave, were arrested for their Christian faith. Despite their different social statuses, they shared a strong bond, supporting each other through imprisonment and persecution, united by their faith and preparing for baptism. They faced their deaths with courage and faith. St. Perpetua and Felicity teach us that we can be great friends by reflecting God’s traits and by forming deep, vulnerable, and authentic bonds.

However, even when we struggle to form bonds, God is always there, and He embodies all the qualities we seek in a friend. A study by researchers at Boise State University explored the essential traits of friendship using a budget model. Participants were given "friendship tokens" and asked to pick from traits like loyalty, reliability, trustworthiness, honesty, forgiveness, information sharing, emotional intelligence, and conscientiousness about repaying debts. The study found that loyalty, reliability, trustworthiness, and honesty are necessities, while forgiveness, information sharing, emotional intelligence, and conscientiousness about repaying debts are seen as luxuries in friendships. Thinking about this study, I noticed one thing in particular: God exhibits all these traits: 

1. God is loyal. God never abandons us even when we waver in faith, and he is always patiently awaiting our return.

   
   

2. God is reliable. God is always there. He is only one prayer away. Anytime you need to talk to him, he is always listening.

   
   

3. God is trustworthy. As exemplified in the Bible verse, “God is within her, she will not fall” (Psalm 46:5), God won’t let us fall.

   
   

4. God is honest. He doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear, but rather, he tells us what we need to hear.

God embodies all the great qualities of friendship, so even if we lack someone to depend on in real life, we can always depend on Him. 

To end, I would like you to think of a friend in need of your support while stating the Irish Blessing: 

"May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand."