Friends

A couple of weeks ago, I got a text message from one of my oldest friends.  His ministry has taken him in a different direction—he’s in missions, so we don’t get the chance to hang out very often.  He asked a simple question; do you want to grab coffee on Monday the 19^th.  I immediately said yes.  What surprised me was how much I looked forward to this meeting since that text.

We met at 7:00 in the morning, early, yes.  We spent an hour talking about our ministries, our families, just catching up.  I was reminded how much I enjoyed his company.  I was reminded how much I missed just chatting with him.  We fellowshipped over coffee and much too quickly, our time came to an end. 

Something we all need is a friend.  In the world of social media where people talk about having 567 “friends,” we often overlook the need for human interaction.  One thing that this generation is losing or perhaps has already lost is the ability to look someone in the eye and connect on a personal level.  There is something about us as humans that crave this friendship. 

The Bible speaks about friendships.  In Proverbs, the book of Wisdom, we find that if a man wants to have friends, he must show himself friendly.  In short:  be the kind of friend you want to have.  Are you a good friend?  Are you there to lend support?  Are you there when needed?  Are you friendly?

Proverbs also tells us that as iron sharpeneth iron, a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.  

Sometimes, friends tell us exactly what we need to hear in exactly the way we need to hear it.  They tell it like it is.  My wife has a friend that she always goes to for clothing advice.  She’ll try on an outfit and ask me if looks okay.  I’ll tell her yes, it does.  Her response?  She messages her friend for advice.  Laura knows that no matter what, this friend will be brutally honest.  We need this!  We need someone who will tells that, no, we shouldn’t wear that outfit because we aren’t 17 any longer.  (Not that my wife would ever do that, she totally rocks every outfit she wears) 

Perhaps one of the saddest stories in the Bible is about a man named Amnon.  I won’t go into all the details of his story, but in II Samuel, we find this phrase: “But Amnon had a friend.”  Oh my.  Friends are important.  This friend gave Amnon some bad advice.  This advice caused Amnon to take action that would eventually lead to a civil war in Israel.  All because of a friend. 

Be careful with your friends!  Make sure you make good choices about who you allow to be your friend.  Friends may let us down, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be the friend they need.  Remember what Jesus said to Judas Iscariot in the garden that night.  “Friend, wherefore are thou come” (Matthew 26:50).  Judas wasn’t being a friend to Jesus, but that didn’t stop Jesus from being Judas’ friend. 

This Thanksgiving be thankful for your friends.  But don’t just be thankful for them, tell them that you are thankful for them.  Don’t save those flowers for their funeral, give them their flowers today.  Don’t just wish your 567, oops, 568, Facebook friends a happy Thanksgiving, but call a friend and tell them that you are thankful for them. 

Be the friend that you need.