Some years ago an English journal ran a contest. A prize was offered for the best definition of a "friend." A friend. How would you define a friend? Thousands of replies poured in: A friend is someone "who multiplies joys, and divides grief!" said one. No, thought another; a friend is someone "who understands our silence." A third person suggested: "A friend is a volume of sympathy bound in cloth." But the publishers picked this one as the winning entry: A friend is "the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."That's it, isn't it? One who comes in when the whole world has gone out. The ancient Jewish wiseman, Ben-Sira, said a faithful friend is a sure shelter ” a rich treasure. (Ecclesiasticus 6:14)

There's no better way to describe the idea of "faithfulness" than that. The fr…