Thursday, June 08, 2006

Friends?

I am reminded of the verse in the Scripture that says that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Somedays, I feel an "amen" in my spirit, appreciating times I have felt a glimpse of this kind of friend in my life. Often though, lately, I find myself thinking about how rare this kind of a friendship is. When one finds it, one wants to treasure it because it is out of the ordinary. I notice the verse is referring to one kind of friend. I assume then (don't take this as interpretation) that there must be other kinds of friends then as well. So the verse is encouraging in that it reminds me that there is a kind of friend that sticks closer than a brother. It is also a reminder though of the discouraging reality that there are other kinds of friends as well....that don't stick so close. It has made me think about what a true friend is then. What kind of friends do I want in my "garden" moments (ref. to Jesus in the Garden of Ges.)? I want those kinds. The kind that stick when I am suffering to accept the will of God in my life and questioning if He could do things any other way. My sufferings or reasons to question are nothing compared to the Lord Jesus Christ but it would be nice, as I'm sure He thought in His humanity, to have the friend spoken of in Proverbs. I also remember that even Jesus didn't have that.....He did find His friends sleeping on the night of His agony instead of praying. Anyhow, I've been discouraged at times lately by how quickly those I thought were true friends turned out to be less sincere than originally thought. I am thankful that I share in one small ounce of Christ's sufferings in this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so true Jen. What a great insight on that verse that I have not considered before, however true friendship is something that I have thought much about. Let's talk soon about that.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that sister. Friendships like that are few and far between, so we do need to treasure those that we do have. Be it "one" or "two" people like that in our lives. Be encouraged sis, you are not alone.

Valeska