‘Life’s not about the people who act true to your face. It’s about the people who remain true behind your back.” – Unknown

   Sometimes it helps to have someone nearby, praying, loving, caring, even hurting with you. Someone who walks into your life when everyone else walks out. In my life that someone has been Jesus and my family. I say this not to showcase Christian virtues, but  just as a simple statement of why my life has turned as it has.    The word paracletos from John 16:7  is translated “Comforter” and “Helper” in most Bible versions. The literal meaning is “one called alongside,” the usual idea being that the Holy Spirit is our Comforting Companion, a true Friend in need. And each time that word is found in the New Testament–John 14:16,20; 15:26; 16:7; and I John 2:1–it always refers to the Lord.   Without trying to be sacrilegious, the Holy Spirit is my Hobbs and I certainly have play the roll of Calvin on more times than I can confess. Hobbs is Calvin's faithful, loving companion through a his sometimes self-destructive, self-absorbed growing up period in life. However, there's something very important I don't want you to miss. While paracletos does always refer to the Lord in those scriptures, the word parakleesis (also a noun), for comfort or consolation, may refer both to the work of the Lord in our lives as well as the effect we have upon each other. Don’t miss that. Here’s the Apostle Paul – When we arrived in Macedonia province, we couldn't settle down. The fights in the church and the fears in our hearts kept us on pins and needles. We couldn't relax because we didn't know how it would turn out. Then the God who lifts up the downcast lifted our heads and our hearts with the arrival of Titus. We were glad just to see him, but the true reassurance came in what he told us about you: how much you cared, how much you grieved, how concerned you were for me. I went from worry to tranquility in no time!  2 Corinthians 7:5-7 Message The great evangelist, missionary and apostle was still worried, hurting and depressed. He needed something which God provided through a friend, Titus. When this messenger reported to Paul how faithfully the Corinthians were serving God, when he told how they cared for Paul and grieved over him, that pumped him up. Titus himself was elated by the work of the Corinthians, Paul says. God made us to need the companionship of true friends. If you read the Scriptures and miss that, you have missed a great element in the Word. (1) We need to cultivate true friends. A true friend believes in your heart and when they hear and see something they don't understand, they still believe the best and seek answers. They want to believe in you, and if you were wrong they are mature enough to present the truth with love. Find a friend like that and you've found gold. "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."   Proverbs 17:17 (2) We need to be good friends. So often we want good friends around us to bolster our ego, defend our actions and pat us on our back. But friendship goes both ways. Who have you been a friend to this day? Be intentional. Be Proactive. Be Consistent.   "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:10   (3) We need to practice the art of being grateful. Cicero once said "Gratitude is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all others." Don't just look for people's short comings for you shall surely find them. Instead be grateful they're in your life, say a prayer for them and smile when you think of them. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”  Colossians 3:15 What is something your friends have done, do or bring to your life? Would you share it with me?
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