A number of years ago Michael W. Smith wrote a song that said, "Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them and a friend will not say never 'cause the welcome will not end . . . in the Father's hands we know That a lifetime's not too long To live as friends"

Over the years because of my vocation and my travels I have had the privilege of meeting many wonderful people. In fact, you could say my life has in many respects been all about people. Some of you know that for nearly 40 years now I have been a Baptist pastor/teacher. What you may not know is that virtually all my life has been church related. I often have said that I was born and raised a Baptist but became a Christian by the Grace of God . . . I digress.

The point is, life has given me the opportunity to meet many people. I am a firm believer that every life that we touch and that touches us becomes a part of the fabric of our life. Edith Schaefer's book "The Tapestry" is a magnificent example of this concept. That being the case my life is literally made up of thousands of weavings. Some threads are momentary meetings as with the young Celtic fellow on the pier at the Circular Quay in Sydney and some long and constant such as a life lived with my dear wife. There are literally thousands of threads with more colors than Jacob's coat woven into who I am.

Some of these were pleasant and some were hard to bear. Some threads were woven by kind people while others were woven by those who deemed themselves my enemy. Taken together the weaving of these threads and my responses to them have made me who I am.

Now having said that let me be clear that while there have been many, literally thousands, of people with whom I have had personal contact over the years unlike Facebook I cannot call them all "friends." For me, the word 'friend" is reserved for a handful out of those thousands who have stood with me through the many challenges, losses, struggles, stumbling and failures of my life. The others are dearly loved acquaintances and very special in their own way but they do not quiet rise to the level of "friend." This is through no fault of mine or theirs. Our lives may have only touched for a moment in time and in an official or passing manner.

To be sure not everyone who called me "friend" proved to be a friend. As long as things were going well or I was able to balance upon the pedestal upon which they had placed me or I was able to serve their purpose they were there. But when the dark days came or I failed to measure up to their expectation or I simply refused or failed to stay on the pedestal they turned away from me or perhaps even turned on me. I have long since gotten past the anger and disappointment of those relationships and sought to seek God's purpose in them. I believe I am better today because of mine enemies.

Again, I digress. What I really want to say is that over the years there has been a "few good men" (perhaps to be politically correct I should say "people") who have stood with me in life. When things were going well they were there to laugh, congratulate and celebrate with me and when things went badly they were there to console, support and sustain me. When I was riding the wave and when the wave came crashing done upon me . . . they were there. They were there standing with me. They did not judge me; did not condemn me; did not reject or abandon me . . . they stood with me.

These handful of people are the ones for whom the term "friend" is reserved. I have often expressed my thanks to God for these wonderful Christlike people that God has so wonderful placed in my life. They have been a part of the "my grace is sufficient for thee" in my life.

Speaking of "my grace is sufficient" I must not forget to mention that among my friends there has been one friend who has been closer to me than any brother I could have. I have known him since I was eleven years old though he knew me before I was born. He promised that he'd never forsake me and he never has. I am proud to say that among my many friends, my best friend is Jesus. Now here is the good part, he can be your best friend too.