Today’s Verse John 15:12-14 msg
“This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you.”
Whenever I think of friendship I remember a very simple song that I learned when I was in Girl Scouts. It was the song “Make New Friends”. The words were “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”. The song was sung in rounds and then some troops ended with: this circle is round it has no ends and that’s how long I want to be your friend.”
In the Bible we find that Job had some pretty special friends. In Job 2:11-13 we read 11-13 Three of Job’s friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn’t believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.” Wow! This is friendship! But it is not all good, later in the book of Job we see that his friends end up becoming one of his trials, and at the end of the book Job lifts his friends up in prayer to help make things right between them and God. What a story!
What about the friends that you have and have had throughout your life? Take a few minutes and think about them and how they touched your life. Is there someone that you have lost touch with that you would like to reconnect with? With Facebook and Linkedin there are easy ways to find them. Write them a card or an email and simply let them know that you are thinking about them. Never forget that you’ve got a friend in Jesus.
Blessings!