Gold and Friendship

There's something to be said about the similarities between Gold and Friendship...

Some might say that Gold is the most valuable commodity in the world today. I would argue that real and abiding friendship is even more valuable.

In today's society in the United States, some might only consider someone a friend, based on how useful you are to them. This should be no surprise, Satan accused God of having that same kind of relationship with Job! (Job 1:6-12)

Gold is a malleable metal. That means that it's shape can be easily changed from one form to another. In today's world, we use Gold for all sorts of things, from currency, to jewelry, to a coating on electronic connectors in order to prevent corrosion. Sometimes friendships have to be flexible and be able to change too.

For instance, I have a dear friend of mine who's name is George. At one point in his life, he had a deep passion, a real fire burning within him for the Lord. Today, his reliance upon God is at an all time low. I believe that God is working with George, in order to help him get to the point where God needs him. George however is as stubborn as a mule. Much like Job, God has seen fit to take away almost everything that he values, except for his life. While this should bring George closer to God, it continues to keep him at arms length.

Today, George and I are still very much friends, but like the Gold we started off talking about, the shape of our friendship has changed. We used to speak daily, talking about how Great God is. Now, we speak maybe once a month, but instead of us talking about how Great God is, George now focuses the conversation on how rough he has it. You see, I don't love George any less, but our friendship has changed. I miss our daily talks, but I'm okay with it.

You see, God "deposits people" into our lives at different times and for different reasons. There's really no way for us to ever know who it's going to be, nor when, nor why they're going to be brought into our lives. God doesn't tell us that. It's incumbent upon each of us to never place too much reliance upon any "friend", but instead place our TOTAL RELIANCE upon God instead.

May God Bless each of us with a friend so dear, even if it's only for a little while. Just remember, it's God that is forever! (Lamentations 5:19)