fidus Achates (trusty friend)

Good friends are precious commodities.
I love engaging conversation over a delicious meal or a hot cup o' java.
Mmm... coffee.


(focus Gregg)


Okay...

To share in the lives of those around me is a distinct delight. The days tend to blend together in monotony more often than not, but when I have the opportunity to take a reprieve from the daily grind to enjoy some time with a friend over a cup of... the daily grind... well, life seems pretty good. It's times like these ordinary encounters at Copper Rock Coffee, or the Cafe at BASIC, or Applebee's, or wherever... when life's meaning seemingly ascends into clarity for me.

Life is about living in community with God as we live in community with each other. We are about community and relationship. I am about community and about relationship (though I am admittedly not always too great at building either of them). Relationship is a simple act of worship and is how I am (and you are) made.
This being said, friendship is a rather peculiar thing. With some friends we share company for a season then move in separate ways with natural ease and no ill will. Some friends are revealed to be scarcely friends at all and we are left with only fractured shards of our hearts residing in our trembling hands. Yet, there are those few that we know will stand by us unequivocally through think, thin, and beyond. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes has much to say on the subject of the value of friendship; I will not repeat all of the gems of wisdom here and now. (You'll enjoy reading it yourself more... trust me.) I must declare that it is a genuine blessing to have those precious few in my life that I can assuredly depend upon to be there for me no matter how lengthy the road is between us or how infrequent the calls have been. It is wonderful to have those few who know you well enough to still know you even after vast expanses of time have passed.
At this, I think also of what a delight it will be when I will meet a woman who is designed to know me more intimately that even the closest friend can, as I too am designed to know her in such a way. What a blessing marriage is... to worship God in a way of life that resembles one of His chosen descriptions of His holy love for us.

What a friend we have in Jesus (as the song goes). He surely is a friend closer than the acquaintances, closer than the friends of the various stages of life, closer than the friendship of relation and blood, even closer than the spouse in whom is placed the commitment of unity. Christ alone is the friend that dwells not only with, but within.

What would it be like to sit down for a cup (or carafe) of the bold black brew with this man called Christ? Would I know Him more intimately? What could be learned if I took a break from the rat race in order to listen to the voice of the One who conceived of me before I was conceived? Would I be shocked to discover that Jesus insists upon drinking decaf? (I like to think not) Could it be possible to glean more from this friendship than a simple badge that I conveniently pull out to assure others of my status as a Christian, but stick in my back pocket when I decide that it is not befitting the situation I am in? Could I tell Him how much I appreciate our relationship in utmost sincerity?