Did you know that the only sermon in Acts addressed to believers is the one recorded in Acts 14:22? And that it's only one sentence?
More about that in a second.
This morning I've been thinking about friendship. There's nothing quite like a faithful friend to help you through those times when you can't quite make it on your own. Every place I've ever lived -- Hawaii, California, North Carolina, and Virginia -- I've had such friends. Not many, but always some. And that's okay. It's the quality of our friendships that matters, not the quantity. I think fondly of the pastor of the International Baptist Church in Honolulu who took me under his wings and mentored me during my high school years. I think of a colleague at Biola who was literally closer to me than a brother. I think of many others, including Becky and my children. Each of them proved to be faithful friends.
It's been said that there are always three traits that are associated with faithful friends: reliability, loyalty, and consistency. A faithful friend is someone on whom you can always ("consistency") depend ("reliability") to be there for you ("loyalty"). You can count on them. When an emergency arises, you can call them and they will drop everything to be with you. Back in 2020, when I could barely stand up due to an as-yet undiagnosed B12 deficiency, my daughter and grandson drove 600 miles to help me through that difficult time. A faithful friend is someone you can always lean on. You can be confident that they'll be there. They're loyal. Consistently so. Even when we can't return their kindness, they still show kindness. They truly care about our situation. They listen. At times they even anticipate a need and step in to fill it.
Now let's get back to Acts 14:22. Here's Paul's "encouraging message" to the believers in Asia Minor:
"It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God."
That word "through" (dia) is descriptive of the results. As believers, we don't just experience tribulations. God intends for us to go through them. And he often uses friends to accomplish this. In 2 Cor. 7:6, Paul writes "But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus." That word "arrival" (parousia) is often used for the Second Coming of Christ. The mere presence of a faithful friend brings comfort. "Friendship," wrote Dolly Madison, "doubles our joys and halves our grief." George Elliot put it this way: "Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them out."
I am by no measure a wise man. But I feel like I'm beginning to understand a deeper truth. A truth that tells me that people who weather loss well are those who learn to live in community. That having is not as important as giving. That if we can learn to be faithful friends, deeply and without reservation, everything else will fall into place. That is why I'm so excited about my daughter's visit tomorrow on a weekend that memorializes Becky's homegoing. Because I am, more than ever, convinced that the mere presence of a faithful friend "doubles our joys and halves our grief."
Amen.