My daughter and her best friend took off tonight to visit a youth camp.  One of their friends is attending the camp during this week.  Perhaps it is the thing to do as they are leaving for college in about three weeks.  I mention sometimes how our house becomes a meeting place when the entire crew gets together.  That is among the main things I will miss with her being in college.  Few things can be more fun than hearing the front door open while waiting to see who is wandering into the house.  Most of them drive now so the unexpected aspect of that rises dramatically.  Life will be oddly quiet after her move.  I don't expect any of them will run by just for old times sake.

The girls gathered quite the collection of photos over the years.  I noticed a few of them on the refrigerator tonight.  They go all of the way back to braces and glasses.  We journey from the awkward stages right into today with prom dresses and contacts.  My guess is that it's those touches that make a home worthwhile.  The same can be said of my youngest even though there are far fewer pictures of him with friends.  He is like his father in terms of being a solitary person.  Photographs are memories to remain etched in our heart.  They tell stories to those who know them best.  One good thing is we live in the age of Facebook, cell phone texting and other tools to stay in touch.  Friends may change but they have far less danger of losing contact than my generation.  One may live in College Station while another lives in Waco but they can and will remain close.  The future looks bright for more photographs on kitchen appliances.

We fail to talk much about friendship in church.  Do you ever wonder about Jesus and if He truly had friends?  My view is that He did indeed have people close to Him.  Our tendency is to think of Jesus as distant or aloof.  Thank goodness that He is not like me.  Scripture records Jesus going to parties where people gathered around Him.  He was close to Lazarus, Martha and Mary according to John's gospel.  One follower is described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  This does not begin to include the large number of references to friendships or relationships by Jesus.  He was occasionally alone but it does not seem that He dealt with loneliness.  So why is it that the church often skips over such passages to deal with other things?  Let me just state that our failure to have mature or biblical relationships is one of the great drawbacks of church life in the present tense.

It was my treat a few years ago to hear a well known pastor speak about the life of his congregation.  He began the work with a few families in a home.  That church today will see about 20,000 people during an average week in attendance.  I will never forget his words.  He said that he wanted to start a church where he would feel comfortable bringing his friends.  His books speak to that philosophy still being at the heart of all he does.  I wonder how many people really know one another in churches.  I know we may be able to say hello or ask how they are doing but do we really know who they are?  Being a believer is about being a friend to Jesus.  Being a healthy church is about being eternal friends with one another.  That is something that will remain in my core until the day I stop doing this job of ministry. 

Bro. Trey