Jesus’ example shows meaning of true friendship

Recently, I spent a week of reconnecting with longtime friends (notice I said “longtime,” not “old”).

On Thursday and Friday, my oldest son, Josh, and I went fishing with John Webb and his son, Scott. John and I haven’t seen each other since high school graduation day in 1971, but we reconnected through Facebook because of our 40th high school reunion last year.

Then on Sunday right after church, I got to spend 15 minutes with Dave and Peggy Adler. Peggy and I began college together in Austin, Texas, in 1971 and Dave joined us in 1972 and graduated with me from seminary in 1979. They were on an Alaska cruise tour, and as they traveled on a bus from Denali to Seward their bus stopped for lunch at Settler’s Bay.

Finally on Monday, I got to fish with Ron Hawkins. Ron and Deb were members of St. John years ago, but they have lived Outside for the last 10 years or so, and now live in the Las Vegas area. Ron and I have been fishing buddies for a long time, but it has been a couple of years since we had the opportunity to fish.

We also took along a friend of my daughter, Kevin Neyhard, who teaches with her in Chevak. While the silvers were few and far between, Kevin caught his first salmon that day, and quite a few others. Ron and I had the opportunity to reconnect.

Friends are a real gift of God. As we are told in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A friend is a joy in good times and a help and strength in times of trial. As one of our Fellowship Board members said in a recent meeting, “God created us for relationships, not to live alone.” We not only rejoice to have friends, but we want to be good friends to others, though as sinful people, no friend is perfect.

We do have a perfect friend, however. In John 15, Jesus tells us: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” We can always count on Jesus. He is not just there to comfort us in times of adversity. He laid down his life to take away our sins.

What a gift to have friends, people who help us enjoy God’s blessings in the good times and help us through adversity. What a gift that God has lowered himself so that Jesus is the one friend on whom we can count, one who laid down his life for us.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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