"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
Friends are a great thing. They truly are a gift from God. Some people have even been blessed with lifelong friends. I, however, have not. I can only imagine what it must be like to have made a friend in school — maybe even kindergarten — and kept that friend for life - to have lived near that friend and interacted with that friend. That must be something special … and exceedingly rare.
Yet, I have had friends in my life who have come and gone for various reasons. Some left through death, others through disagreement, and yet others for no apparent reason. Yet, for the time I had them, I loved them all and counted them as blessings.
We have one friend who never leaves, never deserts, never dies, and never moves away. That friend who is closer than a brother is Jesus1. Though He ascended into heaven, he remains with us in spirit and bodily through the Eucharist. He is there for us always. When our life here is over, he will welcome us home to His eternal kingdom. So long as we have Jesus, we are never truly alone or abandoned.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you are my friend. Thank you for counting me as your friend. Amen.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15