My Friends

I have had a lot of cause to think about my friends and friendship in general lately. I am so blessed not to ever have any reason to feel lonely. And, yes, I fully recognize that is a blessing because so many people feel all alone. I could point out that no one should ever feel alone in this world (Psalm 139). I could do my best to convince you that you have friends who love you, but the fact of the matter is, some people feel lonely...some experience a loneliness that is overwhelming.

I have written in other posts about friendship and the healing power of ministry. My purpose here is not to rehash old articles. I find myself this evening simply thinking about my friends. I am so glad that you are part of my life! All of my life I have heard and have been taught that a Christian is never truly alone; that God and one faithful person make a majority. I do not intend to contradict that idea, but I have to say that it becomes more and more evident that my friends are God's gift to me. I can survive if all I have is Him, but I thank Him that He has given me more!

Solomon wrote: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). To my friends I just want to say, "I love you! I pray God's richest blessings upon you. May you have the peace the surpasses all comprehension and may you ever and always know how important you are to me, but more importantly how important you are to God (John 3:16)."

Just in case anyone missed it in all of that, God loves you and so do I!

Donnie Bates