Friday 3 Jul 2009

Friday Reading: Proverbs 18 24

Key Verse: Proverbs 18 24
24  A man who has friends may be broken up, but there is a Lover who sticks closer than a brother.

Devotion:
One of the most faithful friendships we see in the Old Testament was between King David and Jonathan because it was a mutual friendship because both of them upheld their part of that friendship. A great friendship cannot be built up unless both parties partake in it; no matter how hard you try to be someone’s friend, unless they want to be your friend, nothing will grow apart from your frustration! Yesterday we were reminded that a brother will step up and be there especially when things have all gone wrong; friends may well help out until things have gone totally pear-shaped but a brother will be there even after that has happened!

Today we are reminded that there is one more level to friendship that we may well never fully realise until we are with The Lord! That friendship is what Jesus Christ pours out to us each and every moment of our existence. He is the one who has chosen us in the beginning. He is the one who created us a wonderful earth to live on. He is the one that started the friendship off on a firm footing. If we want to be able to get the most out of our friendship with Him, then we have to put something back into that friendship otherwise it will continue to be as one-sided as it started with...

God continues to try and express His love for us through things that He does for us each and every day. He continues to put more and more into our friendship and continues to expect nothing back from it. What delights Him is when we do give something back because He then sees in us a friendship starting up, one that He knows will last forever because He will make sure of that right from the beginning! Sometimes we will find that friendship means going that extra mile without having to be asked about it; Jesus has proven His friendship to us through what He has already done for us. He is the one who wants to be our soul-mate... if only we will let Him be!

Points to Ponder:
How many best friends do you have?
 
How many will stick with you wherever you go?