Thought for Thursday, June 21st

June 21, 2012

The Value of A Friend

Everyone needs friends! 

Friends can be categorized to some degree: for instance we have casual friends, work friends, church friends, best friends and the list could probably go on and on.

But what is the function of a friend?

Is a friend supposed to be a person who makes us feel better about ourselves?  Should he or she be a facilitator of only happy thoughts, hallmark moments and gleeful occasions and occurrences?  Absolutely not!

A real friend is a person who sometimes annoys us, often challenges us, occasionally makes us downright mad and still is able to encourage and improve our quality of life.

This is the kind of friend Jesus is to us.  His love for us is unwavering, His involvement in our lives is perpetual, even when we don’t want Him to be involved: He often challenges us and for some He even can make us mad at times.

But there is no greater friend than He is.

And shouldn’t we strive to be the kind of friend to others that Jesus is to us?

“Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant, and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it.

-       Cicero

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Luke 11:5-8

Whether we are experiencing friendship as being the friend or having a friend we need to remember there is only one truly perfect friend: and He is the one who accepts us with all of our imperfections and faults and He endures all of our failures and shortcomings – so shouldn’t we do the same.

Remember we all need friends, but real friends don’t have to be perfect they just have to be loved.

“In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends

-       John Churton Collins

Today’s Prayer

Father, you are a friend to the sinner, willing to extend them your love and grace, your forgiveness and salvation:  You are a friend to the believer who falters stumbles and fails, and you are willing to restore and forgive them too.  You do not place restraints or restrictions on those who you befriend and neither should I.  Help me to be a better friend.

“My life is in You Lord
My strength is in You Lord
My hope is in You Lord
In You, it’s in You

I’ll praise You with all of my life
I’ll praise You with all of my strength
With all of my life, with all of my strength
All my hope is in You “

-  Lyrics from ‘My Life Is In You Lord’ by Daniel Gardner