August 11, 2006

Recently I caught up with an old friend from seminary days.  We were very close while attending school, but as often happens, lost touch over time.  It was good to catch up on what’s been going on in his life and what’s been happening in mine. 

Friendship is so very important, critical to our health and well-being.  Friends who can laugh with us and weep with us.  Friends who know when to give counsel, and when to keep quiet and let us find our own way.  It may not be possible to have a lot of very close friends, but it’s essential that we have a few. 

Paul understood the value of a friend.  In his second letter, II Timothy 4: 19 – 22 Paul gets very personal.  He writes to Timothy in verse 21, “Do your best to get here before winter.”  One of the reasons was that Paul was imprisoned, facing an unknown future, and earlier he had asked Timothy to bring his cloak.  His needed his cloak for the coming winter, but I think the other reason, the far more important reason, is that as Paul faced the uncertainty of what was ahead for him, he wanted Timothy to be nearby.  His friend, Timothy, was someone Paul had grown to depend upon.

One of the many mistakes that we often make in life is trying to make it alone.  Maybe it’s a fear of being betrayed by someone we invite in, maybe it’s because we’re afraid they won’t like us if they really knew us; maybe it’s just because in the busyness of living there doesn’t seem to be enough time, but for whatever reason many people live very lonely lives. 

In Genesis God says, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  It is not good to be alone.  We need others.  In Ecclesiastes 4:12  we read, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

The preacher in Ecclesiastes is encouraging his listeners to find a true friend, who, along with God’s presence and power, can provide the strength needed to face a life full of worry and wonder.

It takes time for friendship.  It also takes courage to allow another to get close to us, but the rewards are far worth the risks.  My prayer for you today, if you don’t have a close friend, is that God will bring someone into your life today, who can be for you that special friend, who can stand with you in the good times and bad.  And if God doesn’t bring someone into your life, may God encourage you to be that person, that friend for someone in your life right now.

 See you Sunday,

 David Jones