Dealing With The Tough Ten 6. Broken Relationships/True Friendship

Without a doubt one of the toughest things we have to deal with in life are broken relationships!  Few things cause more problems and more pain, than fractures between people who have shared trust.  The reason for this are both complex, and confusing, plus no two relationships are the same.

So instead of playing Dr. Phil, let me instead reflect on the marks of true friendship shared with me by a highly respected Christian Leadership specialist named Ron Edmonson.  Whether in marriage, or dating; among college roomates or childhood buddies; in business, work or pleasure, if your relationship is not based on these eternal friendship principals, it simply won't stand the test of time!


So if you are tired of broken relationships in your life, let's focus on  5 Marks of True Friendship, and try to apply to our current relationships:

Here are 5 marks of true friendship:

1. Unconditional love - Regardless of what you do, what happens, or where life takes you, a true friend loves at all times.
2. Unwavering support – You don’t have to do the “right things” to keep a true friend. They support you (if not in actions as a person) whatever you choose to do.
3. Willingness to challenge – A true friendship makes you better. The Bible says “iron sharpens iron”. True friends will correct you if needed.
4. Consistent over time – True friendships aren’t for a season. They are for a lifetime.
5. Gives grace freely and generously – True friendship weather the sometime difficulties of relationships, forgive where needed, and love even when it hurts.

Remember these words of truth from the Word of God.   

"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
   but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."   Proverbs 18:24
 
Do you have a true friendship with those whom you have relationships with?
More importantly, are you a true friend?  
If not, try being one today!  Thank God for the true friends in your life!





No matter if you face broken relationships in your life remember the friend who will never leave you in this song by the Winans!