Building Friends

01/15/10 07:28 AM Filed in: From the Pastor

Jesus
I’ve been thinking a lot about friends lately.
Everybody is talking about relationships, and really knowing each other,
But no one seems to do much about it.
Or everyone wants to have the same friend,
That person who is up in front of the crowd
Or the gal with the toothpaste smile and the winsome personality.

Hardly anyone seems willing to build relationships with ordinary people.
You know, the edgy housewife with the three pre-schoolers,
The overweight, under-confident teenager,
Or the quiet guy on the edge of the crowd.

Who was your friend, Lord?
I know you had a lot of acquaintances,
But who was your friend?
I mean the one person with whom you could let your hair down.
Where you didn’t have to watch every word or meet someone’s unending expectations.
You know,
Where did you go to get away,
But you couldn’t bear to be alone again?
Was Lazarus that special friend for you, Lord?
I think maybe he was.

I started to pray,
“Give me a friend like that,:
But I thought better of it.
Instead I pray,
“Let me be a friend like that.”
Amen