Friends. Just the word conjures up visions of love, of joy, and of peace, of security in having found someone with whom we can be ourselves, someone who is willing to be themselves with us.
No greater treasure is there to be found than a true friend.
Money can’t buy one; service can’t earn one; friendship has to be freely offered and freely received; it is a gift, a priceless gift.
Friends bind their souls together in a pact which silently says, “We will weather life’s storms together; we will share a common fate.”
That is why divorce is so deadly; a friendship pact has been torn asunder.
And it is why marriage should not be entered into unadvisedly.
All friendships are to be taken very seriously, since, in this life, we may only have a few close friends.
Friendships require a sharing of everything that we call “mine” – our time, our heart, and our love. They start with a small commitment which grows with time until that friend is a part of our daily thought and prayer life.
Amazingly, God, the creator of all, wants to be our friend. He who owns everything values our friendship above all else. He who has all power needs friends. That may be his only need.
Let us share his heart and his mind; let us be his friend. He shares everything he has with his friends; he holds nothing back. He even has committed all of his resources to help us become like him so that we can see life from his perspective, feel what he feels, and know what he knows.
He wants a relationship with equals. Though he desires for us to worship him, (for he is worthy of all worship and praise), he also wants to share himself with us. He just wants for us to value him as much as he values us.
It is a reciprocal relationship. He first gives himself to us, and, in return, we give ourselves back to him. Together, we can do all things; the possibilities are limitless. It is exactly why eternal life, which Jesus said is knowing God, lasts forever.
~ Brad Heilhecker
Restored People Community 