What does the Bible say about love and friendship? One of the proverbs comes from the disciple John 4:8 : “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Learn what the Bible tells us about these topics.
Love and friendship according to the Holy Book
What does the Bible say about love?
Many of us associate that Love is intimately linked to good feelings, but the Bible says that a truly sincere love does not depend 100% on feelings, it is about something much deeper than the mere act of loving with the intention of receiving. love.
That is why the Bible tells us about love in many biblical passages like the one we show you below:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This tells us that love must be selfless; Giving love without expecting it in return nourishes our spirit, we grow as human beings and every day we are better people.
When we give love or have acts of love towards our neighbor without expecting anything in return and also, when we do them independently of the actions of other people, knowing that they may not return the love we give them, then we have understood the true meaning. of love.
“ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth .” 1 John 3:18
This word of the disciple Juan calls us to really understand what Love is, we must demonstrate it with facts and with our truths, not only with words, which we often say to stand out or attract attention. When our actions do not match our words, there is no love there.
The Bible says that Love is everywhere, so we show you some verses from the Bible:
What does the Bible say about Friendship?
The quotations that appear in the Bible about friendship, point out that love is the basis of everything in our lives, even to value true friendship we need to feel love towards others, in order to offer our loved ones kindness, care and encouragement. in difficult situations.
When we have love in our hearts, we can often think of others before ourselves. That is also called love.
But, many of us may have the doubt of what a friend really is and the answer is given by the Bible in different verses, in which it reflects that a friend is a brother that life sends you, who is united to you from the heart. A friendship relationship allows you to feel compassion for others, help them to be a better person and overcome personal obstacles.
Proverbs 17:17 says: “ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity .”
As mentioned above, love is intimately linked with friendship, because despite the circumstances a good friend will love you at all times, this means that despite adversity or happy days a true friend will be there and will support you.
Just as love is related to friendship, respect is too. A good relationship of friendship, respect your thoughts or opinions even if you don't share them, respect your way of being and your actions in any situation; if this is not so, then it is not a true friendship. That's where the verse from Galatians 6:2 comes from.
" They bear one another's burdens, and in this way, they will fulfill the law of Christ ."
This shows us that true friendship supports us and helps us overcome our shortcomings, reaffirming Proverbs 17:17 mentioned earlier. For a more in-depth exploration of this topic, there are valuable resources on true friendship.
Friendships when they go through different growth processes together such as some obstacles, difficult moments and moments of happiness and achievements, come to understand each other better and that friendship is more lasting. With this, patience is cultivated to find solutions and thus make the good side of friendship flourish.
Trust, another fundamental pillar that complements a true friendship. And, what better and more sincere friendship can exist if it is not the one we should have with our God? ; Psalm 37:3 says:
“ Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy secure pasture .”
In it, he points out the trust that we must have in God above all things, we must follow his example to apply it to our friendly relationships.
Therefore, to follow the example of our God is to apply it to our friendships. We must have and give confidence in the abilities and words of our friends.
A good friendship relationship cannot live without trust, so it is better to cultivate it and encourage it so that it lasts over time.
Another verse that is very important in the friendship relationship is Colossians 3:13 where it says:
“ Bear with one another and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Forgiveness comes from the heart and, consequently, from the love we have for others. A true friend always forgives, points out our mistakes so we can correct them and avoid repeating them, but always forgives. If you're interested in learning more about biblical content related to friendship , we suggest these verses.
Where do we find love?
First we must bear in mind that we cannot give what we do not have. If we do not love ourselves, we will not be able to give true love.
And how do we find love? simply receiving it from God. When we receive his love and feel his forgiveness and care, a little seed grows in our hearts that allows us to have the desire to love others, in the same way that we feel that God loves us.
Therefore, true love is not based on feelings, but on our decision to love someone without expecting anything in return.
How to cultivate true friendship?
Friendship is closely related to respect, trust and love, these are the fundamental pillars for a friendship relationship to last over time.
But there are other characteristics that will allow you to cultivate the friendship relationship, among them we can mention:
- Sincerity: A friendship without hypocrisy is worth keeping in mind in our lives. We must be sincere when we have a wound caused by an action or word that has been said, therefore, saying things sincerely without hurting the other person helps us to see the mistakes made and rectify them.
- Time and Communication: To cultivate some friendship that we consider good in our lives, we must spend time with those people with whom we will share our opinions and desires. With this, we will know what is in their hearts and in their minds.
- Gratitude: Giving thanks to our friends for being in our lives, lets them know that they are an important part of our lives, we confirm the love we feel for them and how much we enjoy their company.
God has created us to relate to other people and thus faithfully serve his word. And the Bible tells us that true friendship is a demonstration of love towards someone whom we accept and accept us with our defects and virtues.
