Friendship

     One of the great gifts God has given to mankind is friendship.  Think of the dynamic friendships in Scripture.  Elijah and Elisha, David and Jonathan, Naomi and Ruth, Paul and Timothy, Titus, and Luke.  Friendships give us encouragement, support, discipleship, protection, and the list goes on.  Even Solomon in Ecclesiastes extols the value of friends.  He also warns that rivalry is the death of friendship.  My favorite example of the effect of friendship is found in II Corinthians.  Paul was downcast and depressed, troubled within and without.  Did God remove the outward pressures?  No.  It doesn't even say that God resolved the inward struggles.  What God did was send Paul Titus.  And Paul's sadness disappeared.  Titus must have been the one of those believers that exuded care, concern, and encouragement.  When he walked in the room, he lifted everyone's spirit.  Do you have a Titus in your life?  I know God has sent me several, and I don't know what I would have done without them.  I hope God has allowed me to be someone else's Titus as well--the encouraging friend that lifts one's spirit back to the joy of the Lord.  Have you thanked God for your Titus?  Now would be a good time.  Have you told your Titus what he or she means to you?  Now would be a good time to do that as well.  Great gifts from a loving God, aren't they?  What would we do without them?