I Owe A Debt To A Friend

I OWE A DEBT TO A FRIEND

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.

Kyfingers@aol.com

TEXT:

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeth iron; so a man sharpeth the countenance of his friends.

1 Kings 3:3 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad:---

Today, I ponder FRIENDS. What would I do for a friend if I knew this could be the last opportunity I had to express my love?

I ask myself... What is a friend?

Have I been a friend?

The older I get the more, I love two words: HOME and FRIENDS!

How would you define friend?

I am told about this newspaper in England giving a reward for the best definition of what is a friend?

Thousands answered, the winner?

"A FRIEND IS ONE THAT COMES WHEN EVERYONE ELSE GOES."

I was raised in a Church of God parsonage.

I never knew the joy of living in one place very

long.

In my time at home, our longest tenure was 3 years,

and that was once, the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.

One, one year tenure, 3rd grade but as a whole, I

never had close long term friends ...

as the call to new areas came.

Most of our tenures averaged around two years.

During the one year tenure, 3rd grade, in Indiana,

I had friends, named Ricky and Johnny.

We moved from Indiana to Ohio.

I cried all the way, I knew I would miss my friends.

Dad told me we would have many new friends, and

sometime we would return to see our old friends.

I did get to see my Indiana friends one more time.

When I was in the 9th grade, another friend allowed

my older brother and I to ride from Tennessee to

Indiana with them, we had a few days visit and the

old friend bought a bus ticket and we rode the

Greyhound home.

I have never seen many of those friends again.

Mom, Dad and my older brother have posted me from

time to time.

I ponder how are those friends today?

Are they in church?

Several have passed to the real home.

Well, the journey went from Ohio, to Indiana, to Ohio, to Tennessee, to Illinois, to Kentucky, to Virginia and back to Kentucky.

But in my journey, I am learning the VALUE OF A FRIEND.

Dad was absolutely right, we have many friends all

over the place.

I am a very rich person today in friends, because of

the ministry and travel.

We take to lightly what a friend is...?

Friends are flowers, variety makes the bouquet of life interesting.

Each friend is different ... distinctive.

We are individuals fastened at the heart.

One is never a complete person ... to be totally whole we need others. Two eyes are limited.

Let me share first some general things about friends.

While, we must know how to say,

"I AM SORRY," a long term friend’s heart will say ...

"FRIEND, YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY...

I AM SORRY. I UNDERSTAND."

We will stay united, for the world can never sever what the cross unites.

Yet love will say, I am sorry, even when it will be rejected.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeth iron; so a man sharpeth the countenance of his friends.

Friends need not always agree.

True or false?

Amos 3:3 says something like...

How can two walk together unless they agree?

I ponder this.

Long term friends have to learn to agree to disagree.

I ponder the words, bury your hatchet, but not in your friends head.

Long term friends over look faults and words spoken in anger.

Forgiveness has to be ... because no two living people agree on everything, unless one is a moron. Then they still won’t agree.

I have often heard about God saying to Solomon, ask for anything you want, ... and he asked for wisdom. I was very surprised, when I read what Solomon asked for, his first request was UNDERSTANDING.

1 Kings 3:3 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad:---

Wow, have I asked God for understanding?

Real understanding can hurt at times?

When those around me disagree/argue/complain...

Do I try to understand?

Can I see there are many sides to every argument?

Do I only see my side?

Do I listen? (If you know my writing, you know,

I say the kiss is not the greatest act of love,

but rather to listen.)

We often can’t listen, because we are jumping to

conclusions.

Can I disagree with you and still listen?

Can I disagree and try to understand from where you

are coming?

Can my friends have a bad day or week and speak terrible, and I love them anyway?