Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? Proverbs 20:6 (NIV).

A lot of people will say that they love their family, but do they take time to be with them? My father didn’t have much time for me. I never had the privilege of getting to know him as a friend. I knew him as a leader, provider, businessman, and disciplinarian, but I never knew him as a faithful friend. I’m not alone. There are many sons who don’t know their fathers as friends.

What’s your definition of a faithful friend? According to “Yahoo Answers” the best answer is: “Someone who loves you no matter what even if you screw up, but tells you when you’re screwing up so you don’t screw up more.”

According to the Bible, to be a good friend you must:

• choose friends wisely (cf. Proverbs 12:26)
• give good advice (cf. Proverbs 27:9)
• be loyal (cf. Proverbs 17:17)
• sharpen one another (cf. Proverbs 27:17)
• not gossip (cf. Proverbs 16:28)
• speak the truth (cf. Proverbs 27:5-6)
• know boundaries (cf. Proverbs 25:17)
• laugh and cry together (cf. Romans 12:15)
• love like you love yourself (cf. Matthew 22:39)
• put your life on the line (cf. John 15:12-13)

And more. A faithful friend is a companion, someone who confides his/her thoughts and feelings, puts you first, will drop what he/she is doing when you’re in need, and will hang in with you even if everyone else deserts you. As Francis Perier says, “A friend is someone whom we can always count on to count on us.” Hopefully that’s the kind of friend you want to be.