Friends

[Gerry]

Jesus said a lot about friends. What He said is all that really matters.

Sometimes we have our own ideas about what a friend is. Sometimes our friends ideas are different from ours.

Sometimes our friends leave us for one reason or another. Sometimes they move away from us, and sometimes they die. There are so many reasons we lose friends.

Either way, they were our friends and because of that they were a part of us. And so to lose them is to lose a piece of us.

But for whatever reason, it comes a time to say goodbye. And when that time comes, we need strength and a special grace from God. But God is faithful, and when others leave us He is still there.

Not long ago, I lost the most precious friend I ever had. That friend cannot be replaced. But in the midst of my grieving, I will remember to thank God for the good times and sweet memories. And rather than recall the times we "fought" and argued, I will thank God for the friend I had.

Thank You Lord for the gift of love, and tears. Thank You for the friends You bring into our life. May we cherish them while we can, and may we say goodbye with grace when we must.

Thank You, Jesus, for being our BEST Friend!

 

[forjesus]

God Bless you Gerry, You seem like a strong person who loves the Lord very much. I pray for you my brother, and I'm sorry for your loss. Remember, To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. God Bless

 

[Blynn]

I'm sorry for your loss too Gerry.

A true friend is a treasure. A gift from God.

Thank you Father for giving us the best, truest friend of all, your son Jesus.


God bless you Gerry
Roberta

 

[Gerry]

Thanks to you both. It is this Scripture that I find myself leaning on and drawing great solace form.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

And so even a loss is good, for it is in that grief that we can grow strong!

 

[altya]

Well it’s in times that the pressure comes that we discover who are true friends in their hearts, and who are only lip-friends.

I know about a friend I had and my desire was that the foundation were laid in truth, this friend could not stand it and accuse me of serving a different God than he did. What really hurts is that I was not saying goodbye, but try to straighten things out and for my effort I was judged that I’m no Christian at all.


Thanks Gerry for posting this

 

[Gerry]

Either you and your friend are not communicating very well or he is unworthy. I always encourage people to save a friendship if it is possible. Only you would know in your case. Just be sure you are right, when you toss a friendship down the drain.

 

[altya]

I never toss a friendship down the drain; it was and will never be my style. The friend choose to do that by brutally hurting me continuously.

Anyway thanks for your advice.

 

[simplicity]

Gerry, I also feel sad about your loss. You are right about friends being a part of us. Although it is terrible they might leave our lives, a part of them continues to live on inside us. And the other part is in the presence of The Lord, as forjesus said.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by altya
Well it’s in times that the pressure comes that we discover who are true friends in their hearts, and who are only lip-friends.

I know about a friend I had and my desire was that the foundation were laid in truth, this friend could not stand it and accuse me of serving a different God than he did. What really hurts is that I was not saying goodbye, but try to straighten things out and for my effort I was judged that I’m no Christian at all.


Thanks Gerry for posting this

I could not get your remarks out of my mind, because this sort of thing happens a lot. Many friendships are lost sometimes in error. Theses scriptures tell us that indeed we must judge some "Things"!

1 Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1 Corinthians 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

And so it is true, as you have said, we must often look on the hearts of people and make a decision. But we need to ask God to show us and reveal to us what we see in that heart. Many times it is not what we think it is.

Often we judge another's words by our own "personal" definition, when in reality they meant something else. Our very language sometimes trips us up and causes us to judge in error.

We need to be so careful and pray. There is no worldly standard by wich we can measure the value of a friend. Love is beyond any measure of value.

 

[psycmajor]

Sorry about your friend, Gerry . You can be assured that you'll always have friends here.

Proverbs 18:24
A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. {Jesus!}

 

[psycmajor]

You did mean that you lost this friend by death? Or not?

 

[Living for Him]

Pass some of your strength and wisdom this way will ya Gerry? Praying for you anyway! As always!

 

[ZiSunka]

CS Lewis said that to love at all is to risk being hurt, and another Christian philospher ( can't recall who) said that you will know who you truly loved by how much it hurts when they are gone.

What a blessing to have loved someone so much that it hurts!

You continue to be in my prayers, Gerry. God bless you with such great love throughout your life!