You Need Some Dear Friends

Romans 16:5
…Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Romans 16:8
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Romans 16:12
…Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

In life you need friends but you also need dear friends. Without friends and dear friends, your life is not normal. Friends and dear friends help us bear the burdens of life. Without such friends, mental illness can easily set it. You need some dear friends!

Apostle Paul ends the letter to the church in Rome by sending greetings to various people. Paul sends greetings to people and makes a comment to almost every name. Paul recognizes some for their contribution to the gospel work. Some are recognized for their generosity. Some are recognized for sacrifices the made. Some are even recognized for being the first converts to Christianity in their various regions. Interestingly enough Paul recognizes three people as dear friends. You need some dear friends!

While every person is important. While every person has made a contribution to the work of God. While every person has a reason to be remembered and given special greetings. While all these people are generally friends to the Apostle, a few are recognized for nothing more than their close friendship to the man of God. The three are highlighted to the whole church for making a contribution to friendship. They were not just friends, but dear friends. You need some dear friends!

Dear is a term that suggests that one is regarded with affection. A dear friend gives emotional and psychological comfort and peace. A dear friend is one who understands and appreciates us in situations where the general public has put a social distance to let us have our privacy. A dear friend is one we can be real with. A dear friend is one who we tell our true feelings about people and situations. A dear friend would be the first one to know that we are about to resign from work. A dear friend would know we are not feeling well before the sickness gets to an alarming level. Paul mentions three dear friends in his greetings to the Roman church. You need dear friends!

Well, it is important to mention that dear friends are not always sexual partners. The Apostle is not referring to sexual partners. Paul refers to the two male dear friends as “my beloved friend,” but he refers to the female dear friend as “the beloved friend.” Paul is deliberate lest the church which has some sensitive people may raise unnecessary issues concerning this friendship. The dear friendship is also above board because it is mentioned in a public letter. This means that it was known by many and it was no secret. Secret dear friendships are obviously hazardous. You need dear friends!

John 11:3
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
John 11:5
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Jesus had dear friends. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were close friends to Jesus. Jesus would regularly visit them and just chat with them. Luke 10:38-42 tells us of one of such visits. We need friends we can retreat to and just catch up with as they fix something for us to eat. We are mentally healthy when we have such friends. If the Saviour of the world had such friends, who are we not to have such friends? You need some dear friends!

John 13:23
One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
John 21:20
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”)

Jesus had many disciples. At some point, Jesus sent out the 72 see Luke 10:1 and the 120 disciples see Acts 1:15. But Jesus kept close 12 disciples. Much closer to Jesus were Peter, James, and John. Even much much closer was John who it was obvious among disciples that Jesus loved. The text in John tells us that John was known to be a dear friend of Jesus. During the last supper, he ate while leaning on Jesus. When Peter with all his uncontrolled courage couldn’t dare ask Jesus who will betray Him, he asked John to ask Jesus, John 13:24-25. Clearly, the Saviour of the world, the incarnate God, had dear friends in His earthly life and ministry. You need some dear friends!

1 Samuel 18:1 and 1 Samuel 18:3 tells us of the very close friendship between David and Jonathan. Some of these friendships have been mentioned in very close language that perverts who seek to destroy scripture have even suggested that these were homosexual relationships or sexual relationships. This is not true, because the Bible does not hide such sins and if it were so, it would have been made plain in the Bible. We must just acknowledge that these were close and dear friends. You need some dear friends!

Dear friends in the biblical sense are not sexual partners. Dear friends do not pause threats to our other significant relationships. Dear friends have been tested over time and they keep secrets and therefore have our confidence. Dear friends are not secret. Dear friends have their boundaries. Dear friends are beneficial to one being normal and whole. Dear friends help us to bear burdens of life. Proverbs 18:24 tells us of a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Jesus is such a friend and we need such human friends too. You need some dear friends!

Dear friends have stopped us from taking actions in anger. Dear friends have questioned our investment plans. Dear friends have helped us apologize when we thought we should never apologize. Dear friends are used by others to tell us truths which others are afraid to tell us. Dear friends comfort us in times of pain and loss, their presence is normally sufficient. Dear friends have saved jobs, businesses, and even marriages. Dear friends are the reason why many have not committed suicide. Dear friends are God-given. No man is an island, everyone needs some dear friends. You need some dear friends!

We have dear husband. We have dear wife. We have dear son or daughter or both. We have dear mother and dear father. We have dear siblings. We even have dear Pastor. But we still need dear friends. You need some dear friends!

We have social media friends but we need real dear friends. We have pets but we need real dear friends. We have toys but we need real dear friends. We have many likes and following to our posts online, which too are very important, but we need real dear friends. People you only interact with online cannot be dear friends, its not even safe to make them dear friends until you interact with them offline. You need some dear friends!

Dear God be our first and dearest friend. Give us some genuine dear friends. Make us genuine dear friends to others. I thank you for dear friends who have improved my life and ministry and have made significant contributions to the reikesis.com site as they help to make it better, remove mistakes, and spread the message to many others without plagiarising. We pray for dear friends in Jesus’ name, Amen!