Friends or Brothers and Sisters?
Jim and I have been traveling quite a bit this last month. Some of it has been for speaking engagements and some of it for relaxation. We love being able to visit with other congregations of the Lord’s church. We almost always see friends we have known for years and sometimes those we have just recently met at Polishing the Pulpit or some other congregation. It is always such joy for us.
Just this week we have been able to reconnect with so many friends from the Dexter church of Christ and others from southeast Missouri who have visited the Matthews church of Christ where Jim is preaching in a gospel meeting. It is so wonderful to look up and see the faces of people you have known for many years who have come to support the gospel meeting.
When you have the kind of friendship we do with these people, you can just pick up the conversation right where it left off the last time you saw them. They fill you in on what has been going on in their lives and you fill them in on yours. Usually, you have some funny stories to take you back to the time when you lived close to one another.
As I have been thinking about all of the people we have seen recently, it dawned on me that the reason they are so special is because they aren’t just friends, they are brothers and sisters. They are family. We share the same belief in God and His word. We have lived through happy and sad times together. They are special because we hope to spend eternity together in heaven some day.
I’m reminded of some friendships like this in the Bible – friendships like the one between David and Jonathan, Jesus and the apostle John, and of course, the friendship Jesus had with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
What a blessing it is to have friends who are also brothers and sisters! We should all count our blessings every day of our lives.
“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)
AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
