Long ago in a far away place I was the pastor of a very warm and friendly church. So you can imagine my uneasy reaction when a couple complained to me about the church being cold and uncaring. I didn’t know how to respond. I thought perhaps my view of the church was skewed because people are usually nice to the pastor. However, maybe they weren’t nice to each other. So I started paying better attention and what I soon discovered was the complaining couple usually arrived for the worship service after the opening hymn and they would leave just after the sermon during the closing hymn. It was an “Aha” moment.
The last verse of Proverbs 18 says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” I never had a brother, but I did have two older sisters. So I watched with great interest the interaction between my two sons. I soon realized if someone was going to deal with one they had to deal with both. God has been so good in giving us animals. Many of us have deep bonds with our pets. They love us. They keep us company. They wait for us at the door. They don’t complain. Often all they need is to be near us. I have an old lab that will with great effort get up and move just a few feet closer if I move to another chair.
I’m most impressed with this verse in Proverbs that says we have a friend even closer than that. My students would say, “Awesome.”
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 22, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org