The priceless reward of a good friend
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. - Proverbs 27:17
During World War I, a Protestant chaplain with the American troops in Italy became a friend of a local Roman Catholic priest. In time, the chaplain moved on with his unit and was killed. The priest heard of his death and asked military authorities if the chaplain could be buried in the cemetery behind his church.
Permission was granted. But the priest ran into a problem with his own Catholic Church authorities. They were sympathetic, but they said they could not approve the burial of a non-Catholic in a Catholic cemetery.
So the priest buried his friend just outside the cemetery fence. Years later, a war veteran who knew what had happened returned to Italy and visited the old priest. The first thing he did was ask to see the chaplain’s grave. To his surprise, he found the grave inside the fence.
“Ah,” he said, “I see you got permission to move the body.”
“No,” said the priest. “They told me where I couldn’t bury the body. But nobody ever told me I couldn’t move the fence.”
A good friend is a rare commodity. Yet so many people go through life and never really connect with others on a deep level. But the good news is that it’s never too late to start. Find a good friend who you can share life with because God never created you to live life alone!
Prayer Challenge
Pray and ask God to bring you godly friends who you can share life with.
Questions for Thought
Why do you think it’s difficult to find good friends?
Who are some people in your life today with whom you can put more effort into building relationships?
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