'Do not forsake your friend...' Proverbs 27:10
The 6th and final step to developing friendship is to 'stay loyal and loving to your friends as far as you possibly can.' They may commit and continue in some sin, such as adultery, for example, and this demands action by the church as described in Matthew 18:15-17.
Discipline may have to be given and you will need to reconsider the grounds upon which friendship can continue. Clearly, the matter of friendship is of major importance and those who ignore it do so at their perils.
God made us for relationships and it is His will that we cultivate a circle of friends. Every friend is different. No one has a double in friendship. The more we have, the richer we are. Everyday we ought to move out from our base in the home and say to ourselves: Lord, help me reach out and touch someone deep in their being today, not for the rewards it brings me in terms of good feelings, but for the blessing I can be to them.
This is the way in which Jesus lived and related to others. Perhaps this is why they called Him 'a friend of..."sinners"' (Matt. 11:19). He hated sin, but He loved the sinner.
Father, one thing is clear: the wise are those who know how to make friends. Guide me in my future days so that in every frinedship I may be able to apply the principles I have just learned. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.
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