Friends Are Good to Have

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend does so by hearty counsel. Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; For better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:6, 9, 10, 17, NKJV).

Several references are made in Proverbs to the value of friends. Go back a few chapters and read in Proverbs 17:17a: “A friend loves at all times.” And in Proverbs 18:24: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Think of your friends, or more specifically a “best” friend. We used to have a saying when I was young, although of incorrect English, to specify a very special, extremely close friend: “______is my ‘bestest’ friend.” To place the superlative form at the end of the adjective indicated “above all others.” Friendship is such an important human relationship that Jesus taught about it within the context of His teaching on love: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatsoever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all thing that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:12-15, NKJV).

Like iron applied to iron to fashion and sharpen it, so a friend can hone, cheer, encourage and help another friend. It is a good thing when one spouse can say of another, first and foremost, “He/she is my best friend.” Many great writers have penned words on the value of friendship. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature.” He also wrote, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Today, think of some dear friends. Thank God for them, and pray for them by name. Better, still, contact one and tell that person how you value his/her friendship. But above all, value your relationship with Jesus Christ, the Friend above all friends, the One who “sticks closer than a brother.”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, July 31, 2010

Whoso Findeth a Wife (or Husband)

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22, KJV).

Marriage was the first institution originated by God early in human history. When God made man in His own image, He saw that it was not good for man to be alone. He made a deep sleep fall upon Adam, from his side took a rib, and formed Eve and presented her to Adam as his companion. Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23). And with the next statement, the importance of marriage was established: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

Throughout the Old Testament are accounts of the man “finding a wife” because the most intimate of human relationships had the sanction and blessing of God from the beginning. In the New Testament, Jesus emphasized that marriage should be a life-time commitment. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Mark 10:9). Jesus spoke this in the context of speaking on divorce, for the Pharisees had come to Him asking a question about it. Their claim was that the law of Moses permitted divorce. Jesus explained that it was only through the hardness of men’s hearts that they sought severance of marriage vows. God’s plan is a union of one man and one woman “until death do us part.”

Courtship (“finding a wife [or husband]) and marriage are approved by God. It is intended as a beautiful and enduring relationship. And as Proverbs 18:22 teaches, whoever finds a spouse finds favor with the Lord. Christ, in seeking to relate believers to Him, likened the church as His bride. He came to earth, sought us, and made things right between man and God through His sacrifice for us. The Bridegroom (Christ) will call each of us to Heaven to dwell eternally with Him.

Take time to thank God for your marriage. He entrusted you and your spouse with the most important practical and intimate partnership on earth, family. A husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church, and a wife should also love and respect her husband. This is God’s way. (See Ephesians 5:22-25 for Paul’s admonitions concerning marriage and the home).

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, July 18, 2010

On Grandchildren, Friends, and Laughter

“Old people are distinguished by grandchildren; children take pride in their parents. Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble. A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” (Proverbs 17:6, 17, 22, The Message Bible).

What a broad subject is today’s topic: grandchildren, friends and laughter. How can these be tied together? First, the verses were underlined in my study Bible, meaning I have noticed them for years. In the KJV, I have them memorized, but I particularly wanted to share The Message version of these verses printed above.

Mr. Peterson rendered “Children’s children are the crown of old men,” as “Old people are distinguished by grandchildren.” I thought: How true! When I meet up with someone I don’t know who is somewhat aging, I often ask: “Do you have grandchildren?” That is always a conversation point. We all like to talk about our grandchildren. They are blessings of growing older. Just now, if you have grandchildren, take time to thank God for them. Pray for them in whatever area they may need strengthening. And if you are blessed, as am I, to have great grandchildren, how “distinguished” indeed! We have lived to the ripe age of seeing children of our children produce children. The blessings continue.

Friends are people we don’t want to do without. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 NKJV). Jesus taught: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:13-14, KJV). The principles of friendship are noted: Be friendly so that you can have friends. Love friends, even to the point of being willing to lay down your life for them. And, of course the highest friendship of the one who “sticks closer than a brother” is Jesus Christ who invites us to be His friends. A wise pastor once said, when teaching on prayer: “When someone comes to your mind, take time to pray for that person. It was not at random that the name crossed your consciousness. He or she needs prayer, then.” Now think of a friend and pray for that person.

And we end with laughter. The KJV renders verse 22 thus: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Laugh often. It takes far fewer muscles to laugh than to frown, and the results are better for the one who laughs and they who hear. Some people have what seems a natural sense of humor. They can find laughter almost everywhere. They can even laugh at their own mistakes, and seek with merriment to correct them. The Message renders the verse in a very understandable way: “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” When we have grandchildren (and great grandchildren!) and friends, we have cause for merriment, for laughter. All cheer our spirit and we’re not in gloom and doom, bone-tired and with dried-up bones. Laugh today! Renew a right spirit within. Thank God for children’s children, friends and laughter.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, July 16, 2010