Truth alone must be the basis of friendship in this world because there is so much we cannot see in another human heart which must be taken on trust, which is not in our power to verify. We believe what we cannot see and faith fills in the blanks which cannot be seen directly and which can only to a limited degree be exchanged between us, for there is always more in another human heart than we can know directly, just as there is always more in God than we can know by searching out. For this reason we know the importance of character, for character is stable and can be relied upon even when we are not with the other. They will continue walking in the same direction with the same steps so that we can anticipate re-joining them around the corner and not be disappointed that they are not there. Of course character is wonderful and also has surprises and our knowledge of God’s ways and character develops over time, but this is due to imperfections in our knowledge, not to any deviation in God from his attributes.