FRIENDSHIP MAINTENANCE!

FRIENDSHIP MAINTENANCE!

Prov 18:24

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

          Friends make burdens bearable! I do not know what I would do without my friends. I suppose I would be as melancholy as a dobro solo! I am always on the lookout for new and more friends.

          There is a type of friend who must be maintained by parties and feasting. Party pals, once the party is over, leave behind only a mess to be cleaned up and deeper emptiness than before. Their maintenance is expensive and their profit is small.

When Abraham Lincoln was a young man starting in life, it used to be said of him, "Lincoln has nothing -- only plenty of friends." I count my friends among my greatest treasures but I have lost some along the way. Sometimes it has been because of my own clumsiness. The friendships lost through unintended offense has left large holes in my heart and, as the Bible says, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: Proverbs 18:19. Simply put, it is harder to restore a wounded friendship than to make a friend.

There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. This friend is Jesus! When offended, He does not walk away from us but lingers until we are of a better frame of mind. When we walk away from Him, He waits for our return and restores us to full friendship as if no rift in our friendship had occurred.

John 15:15

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Dear Lord, thank you for being my friend. Help me to be a better friend today. AMEN