Friendship - Redefined?

I recently heard a sermon by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church where he redefined what a true friend really is. His definition:

"A friend is a trust worthy peer with whom we mutually choose to lovingly live with, seeking unique access and service for God's glory and your mutual good."

This last weekend at the Warrior at Heart retreat, I noticed a pattern that prompted me to share this definition. What I noticed is that many of us have been hurt buy those we considered to be friends. Further, once we are hurt by someone we consider to be a friend we then define and equate all further friendships based on that original hurt. We fear that each subsequent relationship will end the same way and guard ourselves. We withdraw and with each failed relationship we get worse at having them.

If you think about the definition above and look at those you have considered friends...how many of those have you had in your life? I'm guessing very few if any; and if you had one you probably still do. If you have had someone in your life that fits the above definition do you really think of that person as just a "friend"? The word friend is so over used in our culture these days.

We need these types' of friends in our lives. We need those who no matter what will have our back. We need those we can trust and those who know how to lovingly correct us when we are wrong. We need those who love us unconditionally despite our faults and who always intend good for our lives. Those who we fully feel and treat the same way. Some scriptures for thought:

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

Proverbs 27:6 - Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses

Proverbs 27:9 - Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 - If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

I pray that we all are blessed with a couple of these true friends in our lives.