Friends in high places
What is a friend? In The Passionate Pilgrim Shakespeare said:
He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need:
If thou sorrow, he will weep;
If thou wake, he cannot sleep:
Thus of every grief in heart
He with thee doth bear a part.
Shakespeare also said, Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people. (Henry VIII); and But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end. (Sonnet 30). To have friends is to be blessed. To have old friends is to be doubly blessed.
As the years spin by I have become aware of many facets and layers to friendship. And when we consider the spiritual, we become aware of dimensions. Cyber friends create more opportunities of finding people we may hold dear. I find myself in a privileged place when viewing my friends.
It was different back in the 1950’s when I started school. Students had a little autograph book which all their friends could sign. It often ended with “By hook or by crook, I’m the last in your book.” And somewhere before that, “If in heaven we do not meet, hand in hand we’ll stand the heat.” The test of true friendship!
Recently I have been pondering the concept of “friends to grow old with.” What a blessing to be living in a town where you do commerce with a friend whose father you golfed with and whose grandfather you also did business with. When you consider the spiritual dimension, all is blessing. This friend’s father and grandfather have joined the saints, and we are left with sweetest memories. To me fair friend you never can be old (Sonnet 104 Shakespeare)
“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul” (Proverbs 27:9). “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). And friends help us grow in wisdom: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a company of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20). “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-19).
To illustrate this further, let me share a special friendship group I have invited to support my writing efforts over the years. This group includes members in different countries who became cyber friends, members who have passed on to their heavenly reward, and members from different generations. We continue to support each other in prayer, and I now pray to some and for others.
Friends come into our lives for various reasons. Sometimes we support each other, even if they stay but briefly, for a chapter of our lives, but always it is a blessing. The bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Let me end with a blessing for all my friends: Lord Jesus, may I clothe myself in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. May I forgive freely like you have forgiven me. May I shine your light in my friendships, giving glory to you through all that I do, say, and think. Bless all my friends, Jesus. Thank you for the ways they build me up and remind me of your goodness and faithfulness. In your name I pray, Amen.
(580 words)
