Sunday, August 14, 2005
I Have a Friend
I have a friend. That statement alone resonates with the grace of God. But that's not the point of my story.
I have a friend. We couldn't be less alike. He is tall and I am short. He is thoughtful and measured in personality, I am moody and quick to respond. He tends toward peaceful solutions, I tend toward expedient victory. He is a teacher, I am a proclaimer. He is educated, I am not.
It took a while for the two of us to become friends. The catalyst was a Friday morning breakfast group that started with around ten members and has evolved over a couple of years to a very trusting group of five men. We meet every Friday at 6:00 for breakfast. No reminder cards are sent out, no one tries to make anyone feel guilty if they miss a meeting; but most weeks, all five men are there.
These men are my external conscience. With them I can be honest, and from them I can expect honest constructive input. We don't always agree, but we trust each others' hearts. We don't pretend to be happy when we're not and we don't try to become cookie-cutter impressions of each other.
Simply, we are middle aged guys who meet together one a week because it has become important to us.
Some weeks very little is said. (Those are the weeks I'm not there). Some weeks wounds are opened and some weeks healing takes place. Some weeks we talk about our kids; some weeks we talk about our wives; but every week we talk about and work toward being transformed into the image of Christ.
Once, when I was having a particularly difficult time in church, one of these men called me and asked me out to lunch. It was nothing special in the scheme of things, but it reinforced to me my value to him even though I know he didn't agree with a decision I had made.
And so, this is the incubator from which the friendship I mentioned earlier was birthed.
Today my friend, the one not so much like me, preached at our church. He taught the gospel without compromise and declared the Lordship of Christ with understated style. He presented the gospel in a way that was inviting without being weakened. He spoke directly about shortcomings without inciting defensiveness.
Today, he made me feel priveleged to be able to say, "I have a friend."
But it goes further than that. Today, he reminded me how priveleged I am to be able to say, "I have four friends". ¶ 6:59 PM
I have a friend. That statement alone resonates with the grace of God. But that's not the point of my story.
I have a friend. We couldn't be less alike. He is tall and I am short. He is thoughtful and measured in personality, I am moody and quick to respond. He tends toward peaceful solutions, I tend toward expedient victory. He is a teacher, I am a proclaimer. He is educated, I am not.
It took a while for the two of us to become friends. The catalyst was a Friday morning breakfast group that started with around ten members and has evolved over a couple of years to a very trusting group of five men. We meet every Friday at 6:00 for breakfast. No reminder cards are sent out, no one tries to make anyone feel guilty if they miss a meeting; but most weeks, all five men are there.
These men are my external conscience. With them I can be honest, and from them I can expect honest constructive input. We don't always agree, but we trust each others' hearts. We don't pretend to be happy when we're not and we don't try to become cookie-cutter impressions of each other.
Simply, we are middle aged guys who meet together one a week because it has become important to us.
Some weeks very little is said. (Those are the weeks I'm not there). Some weeks wounds are opened and some weeks healing takes place. Some weeks we talk about our kids; some weeks we talk about our wives; but every week we talk about and work toward being transformed into the image of Christ.
Once, when I was having a particularly difficult time in church, one of these men called me and asked me out to lunch. It was nothing special in the scheme of things, but it reinforced to me my value to him even though I know he didn't agree with a decision I had made.
And so, this is the incubator from which the friendship I mentioned earlier was birthed.
Today my friend, the one not so much like me, preached at our church. He taught the gospel without compromise and declared the Lordship of Christ with understated style. He presented the gospel in a way that was inviting without being weakened. He spoke directly about shortcomings without inciting defensiveness.
Today, he made me feel priveleged to be able to say, "I have a friend."
But it goes further than that. Today, he reminded me how priveleged I am to be able to say, "I have four friends". ¶ 6:59 PM
