Wednesday, October 10, 2012

characteristics of friends



Someone who reads this blog asked me to write about friendship.  Their request opened my mind to many things to write about.  I would like to know who you are that made this request.  Please send me an email at jeffb@woodschapelchurch.org if you are willing to identify yourself.

What kind of people do I seem to be attracted to as friends?  All of my close friends are Christians.  But I have many people that I am friends with that are not Christians.   I have friends of both political parties.  Some of them talk politics with me, some of them don’t.  I like learning from others why they think the way that they do.  My friends tend to have very good senses of humor.  They are honest and fair.  They treat others with respect.  They don’t mind telling me if they think I have made a mistake.  In fact, I consider this type of honesty to be mandatory in a friendship.  They are trustworthy.  I can tell them anything, and they tell me about their hurts and joys as well.  One characteristic that I love in people, whether they are my friends or not, is that they are generous and they are engaged in living a generous life.  I don’t like spending time with negative people, so my friends are pretty positive.  They also know how to dish out the grief.  They have to be able to give me a hard time, and they have to be able to take it.  My friends love their wives and children.  My friends love my wife and my children.  I guess I would sum it up by saying that the people that I am friends with have a deep sense of goodness about them. 

I have won the friend lottery.

It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.

1 comment:

Sharon said...

Do you have friends that are "the least of these"? Most of my friends share about the same economic status as I do--I'm not sure how to word that, but you know what I mean. But one of my dearest friends is definitely one of the least. When I first made contact with this person, I pitied him, thinking he was a mess, maybe even a bum. He didn't own much, didn't have much of a job, and he was losing his house in the midst of using it to house others in the same situation. So I set out to help him. Almost two years later, we are great friends--helping each other. His love for God is amazing and he has inspired me and prays with me almost every day. What he has given me is priceless--a thirst to know God better. I wish everyone had a friend like mine. I see him through God's eyes now and I know that Jesus would have loved him as I do. All my friends are awesome--most of them Christians and I love them all. But there's something about knowing someone like my "Jesus freak" friend that goes beyond friendship. I know the Holy Spirit put me on the path that led to him and I'm so glad I followed.