Spur | Mac's Blog

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.                                                                                           Martin Luther King, Jr. 

A  man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.                                                               Proverbs 18:24

Continuing last week’s post on friends, one of the greatest gifts anyone will ever give you is loyalty. And it’s never revealed when things are going well, when the church is growing, your career is flourishing, or your kids are perfect little angels. Challenges, attacks, criticism, setbacks, losses—all these things act like a light switching on in a darkened room: they reveal the cockroaches running for cover.

Real friends aren’t just for you. They’re with you. They hurt when you hurt. They celebrate when you celebrate. In a word, they love you.

They don’t always agree with you, but they always tell the truth. They tell you what they’re really thinking, planning, and doing because they love you. Because you love them. And because they’re grown-ups. 

Whatever you do, wherever you lead, whomever you serve…whatever it takes, turn on the lights. Celebrate the truth-tellers, the grownups in your life. Feed the fires of friendship with people you know you can trust, who have your back when no one else does.

Here’s to a cockroach-free existence!!

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Momentum matters. Winning trumps losing. But God bless those who stay. Those who stick around and stick to it long enough to see momentum ebb and flow and keep coming back for more.

A few years ago, I was at a small gathering of pastors. And the topic du jour was the recent resignation of a big name pastor and author to follow God into the unknown of what would be next. The prevailing sentiment was that he was acting on deep, abiding faith in this leap into the unknown. But the host of this gathering said introducing that day’s guest speaker: “I know that our friend’s resignation is a true leap of faith. But I don’t want us to forget the faith that it takes to stay. To fight the good fight through years and decades.”

In an age of disposable marriages, church-shopping/hopping/bopping, fractured friendships, we’re missing out on the blessing of staying. Building. Persevering. Resolving. Reconciling. Healing. Growing. Knowing. Reflecting the heart of Christ. Who stayed. And stays.