SCRIPTURE: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 NIV
THOUGHT: No need to look too far for a great parable that makes this proverb come to life. The prodigal had oodles of friends in the far country – as long as his inheritance held out, anyway. The minute he ran out of cash he ran out of friends. More than a great story, Jesus told the truth about things.
As I think about the little things we can take for granted day-in, day-out, deep friendship is one of them. The friends who are close by when my family is hundreds of miles away. The ones who don’t really care if I have money or not. The ones who’ve proven over and over that they didn’t seek me out “with hours to kill,” as poet Kahlil Gibran once put it, but “with hours to live.” One of the best descriptions of friendship I ever heard came to me on a little pocket calendar with “anonymous” as its source: A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. Yes.
When you forget your own song, the world will find you wanting and perhaps toss you on the garbage heap; but a friend won’t do that. They’ll remember for you. They’ll remind you of who your lyrics and melodies, the things they’ve watched you overcome, the faith you’ve shown, the prayers God has answered. They’ll remind you that you are loved, not for what you can do for them, but for who you are.
Hallelujah for the friends who stick closer than even a sibling.
PRAYER: Oh God, thank you for deep, meaningful friendship!
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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