Luke 14:12-14  Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

Amazingly even the good things we do, we do hoping to get something from it. If we are friendly we want them to be friendly to us. If we invite them to eat we want them to invite us to eat! Our Lord Jesus taught us a different way of living. He told us to do things that He would reward but we would not get rewarded for here on this earth.

I want us to be a friendly church but not to get them to stay or to come but to be friendly. We should do right because it is right!

The purpose of a church is not to please people but to please the Lord.

Real Christianity is a time to lay aside what I am looking for and look to please Him and give Him what He wants from us!

Proverbs 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

The main key to having friends is to be friendly. That means that instead of expecting others to be friendly to you that you must be the aggressor. You must go after others. You must not be looking at how they treat you but rather how you treat them.

Question yourself: Do you act friendly? Do you try to be kind to and serve others? Do you act friendly to get something in return or out of a heart of real love and friendship?

Proverbs 17:9  He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

True friends forgive each other. False friends repeat things that they shouldn’t. Love doesn’t want the problem to develop. Selfishness thinks in terms of what is in it for me!

What kind of friend are you? Do you forgive and cover or do you gossip and spread the damaging news?

Proverbs 17:17  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

True friends are not there for the moment or when things are going well but rather at all times. Can you describe your friendship this way or would it be true that you only love if you get what you want?

John 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Real love isn’t looking to get, but to give. Real love is sacrificial. It is willing to pay whatever price that is necessary for the friend?

These verses give us some idea of what it means to be a friend and to have friends. I challenge you to think in terms of your friendships. Are you working it like this?

So often I hear how the church is supposed to make friends for others but I don’t find that precept in the Bible.

As you attend church I challenge you to be friendly no matter what others do. I challenge you to be a giver not a taker.