The blessing of friends

Proverbs 27:9 reads “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, And the sweetness of one's friend--from counsel of the soul.” (YLT)

There are few greater joys in life than fellowship with good friends. These sweet times are refreshing, rejuvenating, and oftimes, healing. At the end of a good visit with a good friend one cannot help but to reflect on the goodness of our great God.

My wife and I were privileged to have some friends from out of state stop by to see us Wednesday night / Thursday morning. We hadn’t seen this family for more than two years, but the conversation, fellowship, and fun were void of “awkward silences”. For 6 or 7 hours we sat visiting with our friends, pausing long enough to eat. Later, after we had put all of the children to bed (7 of them between us – all under the age of 10) we sat up for several more hours visiting. At the end of the night we went to bed filled with joy, and satisfied that we had God-honoring fellowship with these wonderful servants of the Lord.

When the Lord blesses us with such friendships I think He is giving us a tiny nibble of the joy we will experience in eternity. The sweet fellowship that we can enjoy from time to time with our friends on this earth is nothing when compared to the complete and full joy we will experience when we are once and for all glorified and in the presence of our precious Savior and Friend Who loves us more than any love we have ever known. I praise the Lord that I can echo the words of Paul when I think of many of my friends: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3 - ESV).