Friendship is a spiritual thing. It is independent of matter or space or time. That which I love in my friend is not that which I see. What influences me in my friend is not his body, but his spirit.
~John Drummond (1851-1897)
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken…. Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor.
~ from The Conundrum of Ecclesiastes, in Chapter 4
Oh beloved, it is true.
There are many things that this fool of a writer is not. The list of ways that i have fallen short is longer than the nearly thousand entries in this blog. But, one thing i am: Is exceedingly wealthy.
Through the years, even in the multitude of my failures, there have been many men, and a few good women, who have poured oceans of themselves into me.
They have imparted to me a sense of value to me, when i felt like nothing.
They have sacrificed for me, when i had burned up my own resources.
They have put their own reputations on the line for me, when i could do nothing to make them look good.
They have challenged me, when i thought i was so very smart.
They have covered me in my nakedness and poverty.
They have visited me in my sickness.
They have prayed for me in my wanderings.
They have admonished me in my foolishness.
They have gloried in my accomplishments.
They have been gracious in my idiocy.
They have cheered me in my paths around the world.
They have rescued me in my failures.
They have been merciful in my transgressions against them.
They have never sought a return on their investment.
And, they have Loved me, when my Love for them has been so paltry in return.
Can you see it?
I am the richest man in the world. I have, at the very least, 5 friends; men who would give greatly – even to their own hurt – that my life would be made better. They are men who would probably get on a plane and come across the world to assist me if i asked. And, if they could not come, they would reach out to dozens of others, until i got what i needed.
Some of this makes me leap for joy! And some of this shames me in my selfishness. G_d has seen fit to surround me with a cadre of mighty men, for no apparent reason than to show me how steadfastly He Loves me.
For, if you knew me, you would know of the months and years – and even decades – of my life where i deserved nothing but death. I was so firmly ensconced in the very center of my own life, that i barely noticed others. Oh, i thought that i cared and even loved others. But, now that i have begun to learn how to Love, i realize what an incredibly selfish person i was.
And through it all, these men poured out time and treasure and words and actions that i might have a better life.
It worked.
To have friends like these, are to help a man understand more what Jesus is like. And, this fool of a writer is so thankful. For, in seeing men act like Him, it encourages me to Love others like they have Loved me – and how HE has Love me, forever.
So, are you the recipient of great Love, through the friendship of others? Do you understand how rich you are because of this? And, hopefully, the point is clear for all of us… What are we going to do with these great riches? Surely we must give them away. There are millions of others who need us – and Him.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to know just how rich you are in Him, and in others as well.
Convey thy love to thy friends, as an arrow to the mark, to stick there; not as a ball against the wall to rebound back to thee. That friendship will not continue to the end that is begun for an end.
~Francis Quarles (1592-1644)
