PRICELESS FRIENDSHIP

PRICELESS FRIENDSHIP

I love an inspirational quote by the famed naturalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It may well be reckoned that friendship is the true masterpiece of nature.”  The following story makes the point of how mission critical it is TO HAVE FRIENDS, and more than that, TO BE A FRIEND to others in times of need.

A soldier was finally coming home from the Vietnam War.  He placed a call to his parents after landing in San Francisco.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve got a huge favor to ask.  I have a friend that I’d like to bring home with me.” 

“Sure son” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting.  He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg.  He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come and live with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son.  Maybe we can help him find somewhere nice to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking.  Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden.  We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives.  I think you should just come home and forget about this guy.  Somehow he will find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone.  The parents heard nothing more from him.

However, a few days later they received a call from the San Francisco police.  Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told.  The police believed it was suicide.  The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.  They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know.  Their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like so many of us.  We find it quite easy to love those who are good-looking, or in good health, or fun to have around, but we may not readily warm to people who could inconvenience us or make us feel a bit uncomfortable.  In truth, we tend to shy away from people like that, people who are not as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we.

Thankfully, there’s someone who would never treat us that way, someone who loves us with an unconditional love and welcomes us into His forever family, regardless of how messed up we have become.

Today, I pray that God will give us sufficient strength to accept people as they are, and that He will grant us enough grace to be more understanding of those who are different, or needier than us.

There is a miracle called FRIENDSHIP that dwells deep within the human heart.  We may not know exactly how it happens or when it gets started.  But we do know the special love and lift that it brings.  And along life’s journey, we gradually come to realize that FRIENDSHIP is one of OUR FATHER’S most precious gifts.

Friends are a rare jewel, indeed.  They make us smile and they encourage us to succeed.  They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always open their hearts and minds to us.  BE A FRIEND.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!