1-3-2023

Good Morning All,

Proverbs 17:17; “A friend loves at all times,”

     We certainly place a lot of emphasis on friends.  Part of this is because we have some choice about our friends.  The old maxim “you choose your friends not your relatives” plays to this note.  If you watch television at all you know how important friendship is.  There was the TV show “Friends;” the theme of the Golden Girls was “Thank you for being a Friend;” it seems that most of the truly successful and popular shows revolved around friendship.  Think of “I Love Lucy,” “The Honeymooners,” “MASH,” “Cheers” among many others.

    Friendship is valuable and it is more valuable for you to be a friend than to make friends.  When you make friends, it may simply involve being pleasant to others, maybe having things in common, or just the fact that you are in the same proximity with someone else.  However, to be a friend means so much more.  To be a friend takes commitment and serious effort.  If someone calls you and says,” I just lost my job!”  They need your support.  If someone calls and says, “My mother died!”  They need your comfort.  We have compassion for our friends.  Compassion comes from a Greek word that literally means to “lose your guts.” It is that pit that forms when you see your friend in pain and you want to stop it or ease it or slow it down.

    There are many types of friendships.  In one you are a disciple type person.  A disciple is a learner or a student.  This usually involves becoming friends with someone older who can share some wisdom and insights into life.  The next type is the other end of this relationship, where you are a mentor.  A mentor is usually older and offers the advice and wisdom but also shares in the joys of the younger persons successes. 

      Yet there is one more type of friend to be and that is to be a true neighbor.  When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered,” Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  The second greatest commandment is “to love your neighbor as yourself.”  Loving our neighbor is about far more than loaning them tools or equipment.  It is about caring.  It is about loving.  It is about taking the time to share in the important things in life and giving them your support, your love, your comfort.  When we are this type of friend, God is using us as his agent as his mask to touch the lives of others.  God uses us to reconcile the world back to himself through the works of His redeemed children.

      Friendship is truly a gift of God, part family part of our own choosing.  God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so he gave him a wife but in that gift; friendship was also born.  So, share your love with your friends today; even if it is just an email telling them that you are thinking about them.  Thank them for being a friend.  Thank God for the friendships that you have and the blessings that you receive from them.

 Dear Father, you saw that man was a lonely creature, so you gave us family and friends.  Keep us mindful of the wonders of this gift and never take it for granted.  Keep old friends close and bring new friends into our life that we may be a witness for you.  All this we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret