I Could Not Live Without Friends

I love my wife, my parents, my children, my grandchildren--my whole family.

But also, I could not live without friends. Some family members are not dependable. Some family members decide to "go south." But there are some friends who are always there, in good times and bad, through thick and thin.

Approximately a year ago, I had open heart surgery followed by an unexpected stroke. My wife was always there with me unfailingly. But also, some of my friends stood beside me every step of the way. We had already been through several tough times and situations, so we all pulled together in this situation. I could not live without friends.

Four special thoughts about friends stand out in my mind.

1. 2 Chronicles 20:7 and James 2:23 describe Abraham as a "friend of God." Often, we think of God as being so transcendent and so distant from and above us that he cannot be or would not be his "friend." The Bible teaches that God desires to be our "friend."

2. Jesus teaches his disciples in John 15:15: "I do not call you servant any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you FRIENDS, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father." How many Christians are willing to entering into a relationship of friendship with God and Jesus?

3. Several lines in the book of Proverbs capture the beauty of friendship.
Proverbs 18:24: "Some friends play at friendship,
but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin."
Proverbs 27:10: "Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is nearby
than kindred who are far away."

4. I cannot be an elder or a shepherd in my church or a teacher in my university classes unless these wonderful individuals are my friends. ONLY when we can establish a TRUE friendship between one another that good things happen. Our world teaches us that "professors" MUST be aloof--PROFESSIONAL. So, many refuse to be with their students. I disagree. Of course, one can "cross a line" that is unhealthy. BUT, I want my students and my fellow-Christians that our relationship is a STRONG, TRUE, GENUINE FRIENDSHIP.

Do you have a true friend? What can you share with all of us about the power of friendship? God has "wired" us to be friends. Praise God for such relationships.

John Willis