There’s a running joke in many Christian circles that one of Jesus’s biggest miracles was making it to his 30s with 12 close friends.

But, in all seriousness, this is a wild concept to many of us– how can you be vulnerable with that many people? How do you have time to cultivate relationships? And, really, is it even all that important to have friends?

As the example of Jesus, alongside a myriad of other scriptures, would plainly argue… yes! We need friends.

God didn’t make us to be alone, just as he isn’t alone. He created us in his image, and God is pretty social. Not an adjective you’ve used to describe him before? Well. He walked with Adam and Eve (and a couple of others! Looking at you, Enoch). God seeks a relationship with us. He came to earth to be with us. And the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are still communing in perfect friendship and unity with one another. 

So, if friendship is important to God, there must be reasons why he intended it for us. 

Here are 3 reasons why it’s important to have faithful friends (and why you should be one!):

🔗 Friends support us.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

C.S. Lewis talks about the delight one feels when discovering someone who shares our interests and quirks. Friends can be our biggest cheerleaders when we decide to go for that new job or overcome that life-long fear of heights. They even notice things about ourselves that we struggle to see and can encourage us to cultivate a particular talent or skill that we’d written off.

🌱 Friends grow us.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

Trusted and respected friends have our best interests at heart, and they can help us grow. Sometimes, growth comes through conversations that humbly and lovingly draw attention to things we’d rather ignore.  We can better ourselves through faithful companionship that encourages one another to draw closer to God and to become better friends to each other.

🦋 Friends abide with us.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

Faithful friends are with you in all seasons of life. Through times of rejoicing, they rejoice. Through times of suffering, they weep. They praise God alongside you and remind you of his trustworthiness in times when it’s hard to see it yourself.

As we practice supporting, growing, and abiding with our friends in love, we’re able to practice living more like Jesus… and hopefully able to form friendships like he did, too!