Monday, March 17 ~ A Friend’s Love

~~Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.  

~~Leaving home at the age of 18, I never really lived very close to my family. I had to make new friends, take risks, learn who I could trust and not trust, sometimes finding out the hard way.
There are a few I call my friends but they are true because I know anytime I call them they are there. They patiently listen, they hurt when I hurt, we pray for each other and usually don’t go very long without talking or seeing each other. So, living an hour and a half away from my family, I don’t have the same everyday closeness I may have with a friend. But I do know that in times of crisis or need my family is there. We love and care for each other.
Proverbs 17:17 says “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.” The Macarthur Study Bible explains that the difference between a friend and a brother is noted here in the text. A true friend is a constant source of love, while a brother in one’s family sometimes may not be close, but is drawn near to help in trouble. Friends may be a constant source while sometimes a brother may be there only in a crisis.
Do you consider Jesus your friend or family? Hopefully both. What a friend we have in Jesus!! He never leaves us, he is there at all times to listen patiently, he hurts when we hurt. He’s not only there in a crisis but daily. Always waiting and longing for us to call upon him. He is our constant source of love. He is also our Heavenly Father, he is the great I Am, he fulfills every need we have. May we accept him in our hearts and allow him to become our closest friend, our brother, our all and all.
Ellen Cook