A friend

There is a word that means a great deal to me.  It is the word friend.  We use it frequently on social media.  But in real life, I wonder how often we use the word to describe someone.    I have to admit that I don’t use the word very often.  When I was young, I used it all the time.  Now I tend to save it for special people.  I love everyone, and yet, I don’t always feel like I have to right to consider everyone my friend and not everyone wants to be my friend.  There have been a few times in my life when I have used the word “friend to describe someone.   Occasionally, I have had people use the word to describe me.   I have to confess, it made me feel special, wanted, loved.    One lady that I wait on regularly at work will often say, "How is my friend today?"  It makes my heart 10 times lighter when she says that.  It seems that the word “friend” creates a special connection between two people.  It occurs to me that perhaps we don’t use the word as often as we could or should.  Most of us, including me, long to know that there are people who will call us “friend.”  Even if there is not one other person who wants to call you a friend, you can be sure that the God of the universe, your creator wants to call you a friend.  That is exciting.  There is a verse in James that says “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.”  I love it! God called Abraham his friend.  The thing that drew God to Abraham was his belief.  Not just any belief, but belief in God.   That’s all he requires of us as well; that we believe him.  If we want to be a friend of God’s, we only have to believe him.