friends through joys and troubles

What is a true friend? 

This is a question that has often come up in my life. I've seen many friendships, both between me and others and amongst the people around me. It's an interesting flow to watch--the constant shift of personalities and motivations, the way people work with others and sometimes love and leave them. Then there are the few gems of the bunch, the shining exception to the rule of shallow, transitory acquaintanceships. These friendships are more akin to sisterhood than the friends-by-convenience liaisons of others. They are deep. They go beyond what is on the surface. These two people are so like one another that, sometimes, their names become inseparable (Diana and Ann, Huck and Tom, Robin and Little John, Sherlock and Watson), and they're forever seen trailing after one another. Even long after they've grown and moved who-knows-where, these two are still known as The Pair, the two who can never be parted.

So what is a true friend? What comes closer to Christ? There are many verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of friends by naming them. Here are just a few:

 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. - Job 16:20  

 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13  

...all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. - Lamentations 1:2 

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. - Proverbs 17:17 

In these verses, two ideals are severely contrasted. One, the friend that deals treacherously, that scorns those who are in the midst of hardship. This is the friend that is only in the relationship for his own gain. Sadly, most people approach friendship from that stance. What can I get from this? What will this benefit me? Can I get something good out of this?

Someone once told me that marriage isn't a 50/50 deal. It's a 100/0 deal--on both sides. This same principle can be applied to true friendships. Friends are supposed to be supporters. It's supposed to be the purest form of support. A person laying down her life for her friends, loving no matter the circumstances, sticking through thick and thin just because that person is her friend. We, regardless of what other people are doing, are supposed to give 100% to a relationship. It can be difficult, of course.

But I believe that that is what a true friend is: someone who is willing to give everything to a friendship, regardless of what troubles, roadblocks, or drama may come.