Wounds From A Friend

Jesus was a friend to sinners. Jesus was a friend to most people. And wounds from a true friend can be trusted.

Heb. 12:6 “The Lord disciplines (or perhaps wounds at times) those he loves…”

ILL.- James S. Hewett tells of a neighbor he had who was trying to put a TV antenna on his roof, but was having a terrible time. Hewett decided to give him a hand. He went over and took with him his best tools and soon had the antenna up. His neighbor asked him what he made with such fancy tools. Hewett replied, “Friends, mostly.”

How do you make friends? You be a friend to others. You do what you can to befriend others. Before you ever wound a friend, you first do something good to a friend or for them.

Prov. 27:6 “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

Wounds from Jesus can be trusted. Can wounds from you to others be trusted?

ILL.- My son Shane and I have gone around the mulberry bush many times. What does that mean? It means we’ve wrangled and argued over many things, many times. But I have always told him that I love him and always will. And that I will not hold anything against him. I am his father. And my wounds to him can be trusted.

What I have said to him, the advice given to him, or the reprimands that I have given can be trusted because I love him. And you are the same with your children. BUT CAN OUR WOUNDS TO ONE ANOTHER BE TRUSTED? In other words, do they come from a heart of love?

But an enemy multiplies kisses. Who does that sound like? Sounds like a Judas and his kiss or kisses could not be trusted. Some people are not trustworthy. They are liars, backstabbers, and betrayers.

CONCLUSION ---------------------------------

ILL.- Here’s a cute story about developing friendship to close our thoughts with. A preacher is writing, telling about his two daughters.

When our two oldest girls, Shannon and Sandi, were in High School I was pretty certain that neither would live past their eighteenth birthday. If they didn’t kill each other there was a very good possibility I would. When they were little they were cute but in their teens they were always fighting about something - usually clothes.

One Saturday afternoon while their mom was gone for groceries I was reading in the family room and WWIII began - over a pair of jeans. And they weren’t even new! Just some only torn, smelly, frayed, blue jeans.

I counted to ten thousand, backwards, three times - just hoping it would all just go away or that Donna would come home. It didn’t and she didn’t so I decided I would have to act.

Their punishment would have to be one that they would remember for a long time. And the fact is that they do remember - it comes up every Christmas and family get-together. I make sure of it!

I made Shannon and Sandi sit on two kitchen chairs, facing each other, about one foot apart. Then I set the timer on the oven for fifteen minutes and told them that they had to look at each other - in the eyes - while smiling for the entire time.

They didn’t think that their punishment was too bad until I said, "If you look away from one another or quit smiling, even for a second, I’ll reset the timer we’ll start over."