You may never know how much people need you.
When the proverbial chips are down, your friends need to know that you will be there for them. That you will have their back. That you, even when they cannot defend themselves, will take up their cause with all of the fervor and energy that you can muster. This is the nature of true friendship, and anything less falls short of friendship.
In the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
If you remember Paul Simon’s “I am a rock; I am an island” from 1965, then you remember what I believe was his main point: friendship is a risky thing. Indeed it is. We’ve all been hurt and betrayed by people whom we believed were our friends. But that does not negate our need for friendship. God hardwired us to need each other. And genuine friendship is worth the risk, just as genuine love is worth the risk. Ruth and Naomi needed it. David and Jonathan needed it. Paul and Timothy needed it. You and I need it. “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
St. Augustine once quoted Cicero: “Friendship is agreement with kindliness and affection about things human and divine.” We could add to that a number of critical admonitions from the Bible about how we ought to befriend one other. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). You and I are to display, within the real-life context of our earthly friendships, the very love with which God has loved us … undeserved love … steady love … steadfast love … unflinching love … unfailing love … forgiving love … persevering love …
You may know that I’m a big fan of Winston Churchill. (If you ever get to London, make sure to visit the Churchill War Rooms on King Charles Street. That’s all I’ll say about that for now, but don’t forget that bit of advice. You’ll be glad you visited.) One intriguing chapter of history from that era includes the story of Harry Hopkins, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and who became FDR’s most trusted adviser. Hopkins not only administered certain critical offshoots of the New Deal, but he became an expert on foreign affairs, serving as a kind of liaison between Roosevelt and the Allied leaders as World War II was taking shape.
In the course of time, Prime Minister Churchill came to highly regard Hopkins as “a flaming soul” and “a natural leader of men.” At one critical moment, when the U.S. was in the throes of deciding whether or not to get directly involved in the fight against Hitler – and our isolationist foreign policy as a whole did not lean in that direction – FDR sent Hopkins to Europe for meetings with Churchill. Churchill wisely understood that these conversations would largely determine our nation’s course of action in regard to entering the War – or not. In a very real sense, Western Civilization hung in the balance. When it was all said and done, what word of advice would President Roosevelt receive from Harry Hopkins?
If my understanding of history is accurate, Winston Churchill was on the edge of his seat as much as Churchill could ever be found on the edge of his seat! After a special dinner in Glasgow hosted by Tom Johnston, here is the summation that was offered to Churchill by Hopkins: “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return. Well, I’m going to quote you one verse from that Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s mother and my own Scottish mother were brought up. ‘Whither thou goest, I will go, and where though lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’”
Historians tell us that, after the quote from Ruth 1:16, Hopkins added: “Even to the end.” Churchill was in tears, which I can assure you wasn’t an everyday occurrence, because he knew exactly what Hopkins meant. His friend was still on his side. America would be on the side of Great Britain. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Someone needs your friendship today. If you will think about your life for just a moment, you may realize that you – right now – are uniquely positioned to help someone in a way in which no one else can help. I’m urging you to be that kind of friend. The free world might not be on the line, but sometimes our “smaller” decisions reap dividends of eternal value.
Churchill nicknamed Hopkins “Lord Root of the Matter,” and the friendship between the two men never waned. May God grant each one of us the support and encouragement that we need for these tumultuous times in which we live. May He give us – and may He make us – true friends! And I am so grateful to be able to remind you, even as I pen this blog posting, that – in our Lord Jesus Christ – you and I have “a Friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
Pastor Charles
Right on the mark😊