The blessings of a faithful friend

One of my favourite TV programmes is BBC's Bargain Hunt. Over recent years I have come to appreciate what might be called antiques or collectables; not so much for the monetary value as for what the article represents in terms of its history. Last weekend Sue and I were in Scarborough, and I went along to the local auction house. I managed to win one lot. It included an old Victorian photograph album (how I wish people had written on the back of old photographs the names of the people concerned!), an old Bible (from around 1860), and a loose pile of old photographs and postcards.

I haven't had time yet to thoroughly examine my purchase, but I did notice that the pile of old postcards included three which featured a dog. On the back of one postcard is written, in copperplate handwriting, "My Dear Old Pal Billy, Died 15 March 1913." Obviously Billy had been a much loved pet and family friend. When our own much loved family pet, Suki, died a few years ago, we all shed tears. In fact I remember preaching a sermon not long afterwards which took lessons from the faithfulness of our dog.

There is no doubt that owning a pet can have many benefits, not least on one's stress levels. You can read some of thebenefits on the About.com website. There is no doubt also, that in human relationships, true friends are worth their weight in gold. Fr. Jerome Cummings is quoted as saying, "A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway". Walter Winchell made this comment: "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

I spoke on the blessings of friendship at a couple of our mid-week groups this week. The three points I made were: (i) Value your friends, and let them know how much they mean to you; (ii) Make sure that you ARE a good friend to others - don't walk away when the going gets tough; (iii) Remember that in Jesus we have the best Friend of all - he will never let us down. To listen to a Welsh choir singing Joseph Scriven's great hymn, click here