"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
 lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Real friends are hard to come by.  Especially close friends.  But God has been so faithful to me over the years to place someone in my life who has been a dear friend to me.  Maybe you've got someone like this in your life as well.

Now, my best friend and I don't always see eye to eye on things.  He's the most optimistic person that I have ever met, while I sometimes look at things with pessimistic eyes.  It doesn't seem to matter what my situation is, he always encourages me to look on the bright side.  Just the other day I was having some problems with my blood pressure and I happened to mention it to him.  You know what he said, "God knows about your blood pressure.  Stop worrying and trust Him."  I already knew that, but somehow hearing it again cheered me up.

And it's not just the cheery outlook on things that makes my buddy a great friend, but he also is quick to take a hard stand for always doing God's will, even at the risk of making me mad at him.  For instance, I thought about doing something that I know I shouldn't do and he came right out and told me to my face that a Christian ought not to do that.  That really steamed me.  But, after I calmed down, I realized again that he was right.

You find out a lot about your friends when you are going through a hardship and my best friend has seen me through a lot of tough times.  Ever since we met back in high school, he's been there for me.  When I was in a near fatal car wreck, the first voice I heard when I came to was his.  When my grandfather and then my grandmother passed away, he was there to share my grief.  When I struggled financially during college, he helped me make ends meet.  When my car tore up, he helped me get a new one.  It just didn't matter when I needed him, day or night, he would always make time for me.

Friends also are there for you during the good times, the high points in life.  When I married my beautiful wife, Paula, my best friend was right there with us at the service.  Sometimes I get kind of jealous, he seems to care as much about her as he does me.  He's the one who suggested that I share the gospel with my grandfather, and sure enough my grandfather got saved that day!  He reads through my devotionals that I write, giving me suggestions on how to improve them or ideas to make them more useful to my readers.  He's just a great guy.  God has really blessed me.

When I have needed advice for difficult decisions, he always gives me honest feedback, even when it's something I don't really want to here.  When I get discouraged about lack of results from my ministry, my best friend reminds me that faithfulness to God is what really counts.  If I am unhappy, he always thinks to ask me why.  

Through the years my best friend has been through it all with me, thick and thin, good and bad.  He has been such a dear friend to me, and I know why he has been such an important part of my life.  Even though it's not "macho" to show a man how much you care about him, he has always let me know that he loves me.  I know there's nothing that he wouldn't do for me.  That's important.

Well, enough rattling on.  I just wanted to tell you about my best friend.

Oh, by the way, I think you know him.  His name is Jesus.
 
Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!