Friends

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

Matthew 24:9

“Take away my money, but leave me my friends and I will have it all back in time. But take away my friends and my money will soon follow and not come back.” Those are the words, as I remember them of a very rich man talking about the importance of friends.

A life long friend of mine recently asked me about my other friends. I was shocked by how uncomfortable it made me feel to list my friends. I really wasn't sure why it made me uncomfortable. I am not in the seventh grade feeling threatened by one friend knowing that I had other friendships as well. And certainly, I am not ashamed of my friends, but the list of my friends speaks volumes about who I am. My friends reveal my passions. My friends tell the story of my comfort zone. My friends are the labels on the files of my life.

One of the first signs of trouble with a teenage child is when the parents don't know the friends. And one of the best ways to know what is going on in the life of a child is to look at the friendships that develop over the years.

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is more than an old church song. Being a friend of Jesus Christ brings blessings to your life beyond measure and imagination, but it also bring persecution. When you become a friend of Jesus you by very definition become an enemy of the hosts of Hell! When you are a friend of Jesus the world will set itself squarely against you on all sides. Your day will not be spent basking in joy, but you will quickly recognize that there is a battle going on and you are in the midst of it, if not on the front line.

If Satan takes all I have but leaves me Jesus, I have enough and I have everything. If I lose Jesus but still have the world's things in over abundance I am the poorest of all men.

Does it make you uncomfortable when Jesus asks you to tell Him about your other friendships?