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Each week, on my daily podcast, Jesus Changes Everything<\/em>, I include a segment titled \u201cForever Friends.\u201d In said segment I give thanks to God for the friends He in His grace placed in my life at different times. Some of these friends have passed on. With others in time the relationship was broken. With still more I\u2019ve simply lost touch. Typically I seek out, with the help of our overlords at Google, to find the person to let them listen in while I speak well of them. I also, however, most every segment, encourage my listeners to do the same, to contact an old friend and let them know of your gratitude.<\/p>\n Because we are made for relationship, reflecting the trinitarian nature of the living God, we are most ourselves in relationship. Which means in turn that among the greatest gifts our Father has given us is strong relationships. These segments are not merely remembering old friends, but giving thanks to Him for them. Which we ought to do not just for old friends, but all friends, including the one who should be our closest friend.<\/p>\n I was, little more than 5 years ago, a profoundly lonely man. God sent into my life a friend who needed a friend as well. This friend shared interests with me, and had the kind of sense of humor that meshed seamlessly. The friendship began at a distance, which distance remains no more. Lisa Sproul is my best friend. She is, in turn, the best gift, apart from my redemption, He has ever given me. She encourages me when I am down and joins me when I am up. She comforts me and inspires me. She feeds me like a king. Wisdom drops from her lips. She has eyes I get lost in and a voice that soothes me and all who hear it. She is kind to those in need, gracious to those who have harmed her. She speaks God\u2019s Word into my life and the lives of others. (You can keep up with her here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n It is grace, every bit of it. It is His grace toward her and His grace through her. It is His grace in her and His grace on her. It is His grace to me that He has blessed me with her grace. My job? To give thanks. To thank her and to thank Him. To never lose sight of the grace. My job is to remember, no matter what is happening that \u201cI don\u2019t deserve this\u201d cannot mean I\u2019m owed more but always means I\u2019m owed less.<\/p>\n Jesus told us the story of the importunate widow. He encourages us to not lose hope as we bring our petitions before Him. How much more out we to not lose gratitude as we bring our praises before Him? I am ever so grateful for my wife, so beautiful inside and out. And I am ever so grateful to my Maker who brought her to me. She shall be called woman, for she is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Give thanks friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Each week, on my daily podcast, Jesus Changes Everything, I include a segment titled \u201cForever Friends.\u201d In said segment I give thanks to God for the friends He in His grace placed in my life at different times. Some of … Continue reading