Friends for Eternity

Sometimes… Just spending some quality time with good friends is the only therapy you need.

I don’t know who coined that phrase, but it is so true. Especially in these times when we are social distancing. 

Friends are such an important part of our lives. If you are lucky, you have at least a few from the various seasons of your life. 

In Proverbs, it says that a friend is always loyal (17:17) and a real friend sticks closer than a brother (18.24). In today’s world of social isolation where stress and concerns for our safety are high, having, and being, a true friend is more important than ever. 

Even before these trying times, people had become isolated from one another. We no longer have back door friends who just walk in whenever they need to borrow some sugar or want to share life over a cup of coffee. 

No, nowadays we don’t even call to see if people are available, we have to text them to see if they are available for a call. I have a couple of friends who I literally have to text back and forth for weeks before we can find a time in our schedules when we can talk.

But despite our busyness, we all need a friend who will be there to listen to our concerns, care about what is happening in our lives, and offer a hand when we need one. If we are blessed, we may have more than one.

When you think about it, we begin gathering friends at a very early age. Children connect with other children almost immediately upon meeting them. Besides my siblings and cousins, I remember my first friends as being children of my parent’s friends and the boy across the street when I was growing up. When I entered school in our small town, my circle grew and it kept getting larger and larger as I moved through grade school, high school, college, and into the work world. 

I’ve truly been blessed with many friendships throughout the years. Most of my friends have been girls or are women, but there were seasons of my life when male friends were my closest confidants.  I’ve had really really good friends over the years. Some are the kind I know on a surface level; many I know on a much deeper level. 

What I find interesting is the ones that stand out the most to me are the ones who I’ve been through trying times with. 

The ones who we’ve survived the storms of divorce, sickness, or disappointment together.

The ones who I’ve cried with when a loved one passed away. 

The ones who I’ve joined hands with as we stepped out of our comfort zones to do things we’d have never done on our own.

Some were so natural and others seemed so unlikely.  Like the guy who picked me up and took me to the laundry mat every week for a while when I was a young single mom. Or the co-workers and coaches who became fast friends despite the difference in our age. Some but not all are Bible-study pals, but none are afraid to dig deep when we are trying to figure out this thing called life. 

I feel fortunate to have been able to travel to many places through my years and the further from home my travels took me, the more diverse my circle became. I have shared conversation, laughter, and meals with people of all faiths, all backgrounds, and many different philosophies of life.  I love that no matter how diverse our paths are, God loves us all and commands that we love one another as He has loved us. 

But the most important friends are the ones who I reach for when I just need to talk. Some are lunch friends, some are walking friends, and some are phone friends. Some live near and some live all the way across the country and a couple of them are even across the world. 

Thanks to technology, distance is not an issue. We can connect and share our lives via the phone or the internet. In fact, one group of my friends from my high school days get together regularly. We’ve shared weddings, babies, grandbabies, and way too many losses together. These last several months we’ve occasionally been gathering on zoom for happy hour. This forced isolation has brought us closer than we’ve been in years. It’s been so much fun and we agree it is the best alternative until we can be together again in person. 

God didn’t intend for us to live life alone.  He wants us to share our lives so we can support and encourage one another through times of joy and sorrow. In fact, it occurred to me that when he talked about shoring up treasures in heaven, could he have been including friends in that? 

Think about it. So many things in life on earth we cannot take with us when we die. But our friends and loved ones are something we can ensure will be there with us. We are commanded to tell others about this treasure we have and invite them into eternity with us. 

In a recent devotional I read they shared the visual where a pastor laid a rope from the pulpit all the way to the entrance to the sanctuary. The first few inches were painted red and the rest of the rope was white. He explained that the tiny portion in red represents our life here on earth. All the rest reflects our life in heaven.  The red includes the pain and suffering we will endure in our earthly life. The while reflects the joy and peace we will have for the rest of eternity. With that perspective, is there any reason you wouldn’t invite the people you love to join you in heaven forever?  

I know there are times I talk about sin and evil in this world. I do so not to condemn, but to remind us all that we – each and every single one of us – are sinners. And yet, we have this amazing gift of salvation. When I talk about sin, it is to let you know that I want you to have that gift too. 

I don’t bring it up with the intent to judge or condemn anyone. That is not my place, but to let you know that Jesus is my friend. My best friend. And He wants to be yours too. The gift is free and the peace you can gain from living free from all the worries of this world is priceless. 

So I invite you to think about those friends God has blessed you with. Have you heard from them lately? Maybe they are struggling and need to hear from you. Pick up the phone and give them a call. Or text. Or walk over and have a cup of coffee. Wear your mask if you have to, but just be that friend that they may be needing right now.

Remember, a friend is loyal and sticks closer than a brother. And I’m guessing you know someone who needs a loyal friend to offer them some love and encouragement right now. 

When God says, store up your treasures in heaven, doesn’t it do your heart good to think that He likely meant to love those people he brought into your life and bring them closer to Him? By doing so, you certainly are fulfilling a primary purpose in your life. 

I hope you are inspired to be a good friend and reach out to someone God has been bringing into your heart lately. And if you know of someone who needs to hear this message, please share it with them. 

One last thing before I leave. I have to share that I literally stopped typing while I wrote this and called a friend who I’d neglected too long. We had a beautiful conversation and I can honestly say it was good therapy for me.  She reminded me that it is time to stop talking about this book I plan to write and write it.  

I’m not sure what that looks like for the podcast for certain, but I’m pretty sure it means fewer regular episodes and possibly even a break for a while. If you enjoy Longing for More, or if you are interested in hearing about my journey along the way, I encourage you to subscribe to the show and sign up for my email where I will be sharing insights into this season of my life either in the podcast, my blog, or directly in the email.  

More on that next week…until then, go, be blessed, and live your more!

Want to listen to this episode? Check it out here!