sinner, an alarm needs to go off in our heads. There are no shortcuts to authentic friendship. Relationships are messy and unpredictable. We can’t fake love just to get someone to come to church. That’s manipulation and hypocrisy, and sooner or later it will backfire. God shows us what authentic love is in John 3:16, probably the most famous verse in the Bible. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV).