A Friend, Is a Friend, Is a Friend

True friends don't abandon, that's natural man thinking. It feels easier to leave when it's unsavory or when things get hard, but to me that's when a friend stays.

I think of the Bible story where the Pharisees (the supposedly righteous people) asked Jesus why he hung out with Publicans (a lower class than Jesus.) They said it would ruin his reputation, but Jesus basically said 'I hang out with people who need me'.

It also reminds me of the story about the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep. That lost sheep needed his shepherd to find him because he was lost. The 99 sheep were fine but the one sheep wasn't. How kind and loving for that shepherd to go find the lost one instead of thinking Oh well, I have 99 sheep, who cares if one is lost.

I want to emulate the good shepherd who always cares about the one. Relating the story to people, everyone is a life, a person. (Every human being is God's child and they all matter to Him.) Each person deserves true friendship and it's my desire to be as good of a friend as I can. In the words of my favorite business philosopher, Jim Rohn, "How long should you stay? Until."