“A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17:17 (emphasis on “at all times”)

Someone asked me once, what I wanted to be known for at the end of my life and I couldn’t think of a better answer than “Friend”.

I genuinely want “Friend” written on my epitaph, and as morbid as the thought of my having seriously considered this must seem, I however, see it as a wonderful tribute.

Life is short and we need to live it well.

The recent senseless massacre of innocent people at a movie theater has me along with the whole country wondering, what drove that young man to commit such a heinous crime? The news reports state that he was a “super nice kid,” “kinda quiet” and “really smart”. Sadly, this whole situation as sickening as it is, really has two victims: the first being, the innocent people whose lives were brutally taken and second, the young man who took it.

So I must ask the most obvious question (maybe you’ve even pondered it as well), did he not have a single friend who could have kept him accountable? Was there not even one person in his life in whom he could have confided in? If this introverted young man had a friend, could all this have been prevented? Perhaps, but we will never truly know the answer to that question.

One of my favorite authors, Lisa Bevere, tweeted it best, “Friendships weather seasons and know how to create or make time for others! Be a friend.”

Living this out is not a cliché and it’s not some unrealistic dogma either that most “new age” people concocted in order for you to achieve spiritual enlightenment only at the staggering cost of $500 per seminar (give me a break!) and that’s not even including dvd’s, books, audio books and cd’s!

Seriously, the universe is not hiding the “keys” for you to be happy, healthy and fulfilled. And it is not secretly written in the stars either. We don’t have to look very far to find “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Every new concept out there stem from a single book and you’ve probably even heard of it… yup, the Bible (try reading it sometime, it could save you $500) :).

Just imagine how much more sweet life can be when you’re wholly loved for who you are and you’re fully able to love others; there would be no time for quarrels, no insecurities, hidden agendas and no fear of rejection.

The mere thought that God even considers us as a “friend” warms my heart. And according to John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he [Jesus] lay down his life for his friends.”

So how much more should we (so-called Christians, children of God, disciples, goody-two-shoes … whatever name you think applies) follow in His example?

It’s really not that difficult, don’t let yourself be intimidated. There are so many lonely people out there yearning for someone to just love them, to just hear them out, and yet there are so many of us who allow our insecurities to get in the way of helping someone in need.

So just start by being a friend, love without hesitation, and then watch what happens around you. Perhaps someday, you could be that friend, you know, the one who reaches out and befriends that “super nice, kinda quiet and really smart kid”.