People are kind of like Lego bricks. You have a finite number of pegs that allow you to connect in meaningful friendships with other people. 

Maybe you feel some emptiness in your life and wish you had another friend. Or maybe as you look at your friendships, you feel like you could use a better friend. But who?

Something Jesus said transformed the way I think of friendships. I always thought that a best friend was someone who improved the quality of my life. But I was wrong. Here’s what Jesus said:

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12,13).

Jesus did much more than just improve the quality of your life. He changed the direction of your life. He saw the direction you were headed, so he intervened lovingly to change your eternity.

That’s what best friends do. Good friends improve the quality of your life, but a best friend will improve the direction of your life.

The best friend you could have is a Christian who knows you well enough to see where your life is headed and loves you enough to intervene when necessary. A best friend is able to take the eternity-changing gospel and apply it to everyday decisions you face.

Sometimes the first step to finding that kind of friend is being that kind of friend to someone else.