Sunday, December 18, 2016

what friends mean

Lewis tells us about true friendship today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

And he says something rather insightful. He says that when a group of friends get together to do something they genuinely like doing, they look just like the pernicious "inner ring" that he denounced so thoroughly in previous readings. And he explains how they're different.

But Lewis was enamored with the idea of friendship. He talks about it at length in his book "Four Loves". He points out the moment when you find someone else who likes something you like, and you look at them and think "Oh, you too?" And in that moment, friendship is born.

And friendship, I think, is one of the greatest things in life. Whether you are friends with your family members (and as you know, not everyone is... so it's especially gratifying when you are), or with people who you meet along your journey... friends make life so much sweeter. They help carry your load, both literally and (more importantly) figuratively (especially emotionally). Having a friend who prays for you is especially great. Knowing that someone cares enough about you to lift your needs to God on a regular basis truly makes the burdens we carry much lighter.

So let's pray for our friends, shall we? And let's BE good friends to people in our lives. Listen to them. Be there for them. Help them when they need it, expecting nothing in return. Sharing our joys and our sorrows.

After all, that's what friends are for.

God, thank You for the great blessing of friends.

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