Friends

One of the curses, or privileges, depending upon how one looks at it, is that as a pastor you bury a lot of friends.

Charlie was my friend, I miss Charlie. Charlie always had a broad smile, a hardy handshake and a pleasant disposition. My first solid recollection of Charlie was back a number of years ago when we were going to remodel the sanctuary of the church. We had to move a good number of heavy, awkward pews into storage. There was Charlie, a fairly new-comer to the church helping to move and stack these pews. I had no idea, when we began, that Charlie was in his eighties, had had bypass surgery, and was living with a pace-maker and defibrillator. Upon learning this, I almost had a coronary. I thought, ‘this man is going to die on me and everyone is going to blame me.’ Luckily, we all survived.

As Charlie neared ninety he began to slow down. He started to worry a lot more and conversation about eternity became far more frequent. In the last few months of Charlie’s life we had many conversations. At one visit to the hospital Charlie asked me if I could hear that music? I confessed I didn’t. He said, "I don’t know how they do it, but they pipe-in music. They’ve been playing, ‘How Great Thou Art.’” Upon reminding him that that’s a pretty good song he replied, "Yes, I know, but after three days I wish they’d shut it off." On another occasion Charlie said someone had told him, ‘The man upstairs will take care of you.’ He said, “Pastor, I looked them in the eye and said, ‘the man upstairs has a name, His Name is Jesus Christ.’” One of Charlie’s favorite verses came from Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” I miss Charlie, he was my friend. I’ll see Charlie again in eternity. But greater than any friendship we may enjoy here on earth is the reality of friendship with God. We are told Abraham believed God and could therefore be called, ‘the friend of God,’ James 2:23. In John 15:15, Christ told His disciples, “I no longer call you servants,…..Instead, I have called you friends…” Friendships here on earth are great, but far greater is being called, ‘the friend of God.’ I’m thankful to have a friend that sticks closer than a brother, Proverbs 18:24.