FOREVER FRIENDS

 

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

 

FOREVER FRIENDS

 

Phil 1:2-6

2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

 

          Today a friend from long ago referred to me as his forever friend (Proverbs 17:17). We are both ministers who served the same charming Maryland peninsula. We differed in doctrine on some minor points, and I suppose we still do but we shared something in common. Each respected and admired the deep commitment the other had for his Lord and his calling. We were partners and not competitors.

 

          Are you old enough to have friends from a long-ago-time? Do snapshots stored in your heart suddenly pop up on the screen of your mind? Do you smile? Do you sometimes cry? Do you remember a few hissy fits that were transformed into hugs by time and circumstance? If all, or any, of these are true then you are blessed.

 

          It’s early, it’s Tuesday, and I am not young. The miles behind are longer than the miles before and my memories outnumber my ambitions. So, pour another cup of coffee, sit in the stillness of a beginning Autumn, and remember. Let it be your devotional. Thank God for all He has allowed to enter your life both good and bad. Remember friends who remained so. Remember enemies who did not remain so but were changed by the same Spirit that changed you.

 

Let this be your prayer today: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” AMEN