God is relational. The Trinity is an incredibly unique, mysterious truth of who God is. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one eternal God, in perfect relationship all the time. And God has created us to be relational as well. It is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). This truth extends beyond marriage and includes friendship as well.

Friends are there for you during the good, sad, fun, emotional, difficult, stressful, and relaxing times of life. But how do we invest into these friendships to make them deep and meaningful? Some friendships come and go as we move through life. Others are deep and last for a lifetime. Either way, they are important elements of relationship and community.

This article on The Gospel Coalition website provides five practical ways to pursue friendship and be a good friend. Reading through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) show us the depth and complexity of Jesus’ friendships with his 12 disciples – and reminds us that our friends will inevitably fail us in some ways, and need forgiveness just like we do. Reflecting on the friendship between David and Jonathan (expressed throughout 1 Samuel but especially here in 1 Samuel 18:1-5) is another good avenue where we can learn about deep friendship. Jonathan sacrificed much for David, helped him, and they cared for each other well.

Are you wishing today for deeper friendships? Pray for this, and invest in the people who are in your life. You may need to stretch your comfort zone or rearrange your schedule to spend more time with a new friend. Are you struggling in a friendship where someone has hurt you? Pray for this, and seek God’s help to forgive. Talk it through. Pray together, and be honest with each other.

We invest in friendship with our time, energy, love, prayers, and emotions. It’s not always easy, but few good things in life are.