Friendship

Friendship

Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.

Proverbs 11:17

I’ve heard a story of a young soldier in World War I who asked his officer to allow him to go out into the no-man’s-land between the trenches. He wanted to bring back one of his comrades who lay grievously wounded. “You can go,” said the officer, “but it’s not worth it. Your friend is probably dead, and you will throw your own life away.” But the man went. Somehow he managed to get to his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder, and bring him back to the trenches. The two of them tumbled in together and lay at the bottom.

The officer looked very tenderly at the would-be rescuer, and then he said, “I told you it wouldn’t be worth it. Your friend is dead, and you are mortally wounded.”

“It was worth it, though, sir,” the soldier said.

“How do you mean, ‘worth it’? I tell you, your friend is dead.”

“Yes, sir,” the boy answered, “but it was worth it because when I got to him he was still alive, and he said to me, ‘Jim, I knew you’d come.’ ”

Isn’t that the kind of friend each of us desires? That kind of friend sees a need, is willing to get involved, and acts unselfishly. All of us have opportunities to be that kind of friend.

In God’s gracious plan, we are sometimes the givers and sometimes the receivers. Healthy friendships involve a certain degree of both and are worth more than their weight in gold.

Father,

Thank you for the wonderful gift of friendship. Please prompt us to be aware of those who might be lonely or new to our communities and be willing to bring grace into their lives. And may we be sensitive to the hurts and needs of our friends around us. Amen.