Thanks for God-Given Friends
by Anthony Hamilton
My beloved grandmother, Sara Melson, completed her sojourn in this world the Saturday before Thanksgiving. She had faithfully fought the good fight and completed her race. She has entered into her final rest.
She was among the most generous, serving, and encouraging people I know, and I am so thoroughly blessed to have the privilege of saying that she was, and *is*, my grandmother. I honestly believe that I took her far too much for granted since she was the epitome of what a grandmother ought to be, and I didn't truly grasp the depth of the blessing that God gave me by giving me to her as a grandchild. Reminiscing with my family afterward helped me put things into perspective, including what sort of things she commonly did that were really out of the ordinary and were testaments to her godly character. For example, it was normal for her to give up her bed to my parents when we would travel down for a visit. As a child, that just seemed to be what people did, and I never really thought to question them. But how many people routinely give up their own bed to visitors?
That evening, I decided that I will be endeavoring to pay more attention to those God has blessed me with in my life and not take them for granted so that I may both be thankful for them for who they are and all that they do and that I may better love and appreciate them as God would have me do. After all, if you read through Paul’s letters, how often did he thank God for the brethren?
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8).
“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus ...” (I Corinthians 1:4).
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him“ (Ephesians 1:15-17).
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you ..." (Philippians 1:3).
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers …” (I Thessalonians 1:2).
“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater ...” (II Thessalonians 1:3).
“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:13).
“I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers ...” (Philemon 1:4).
Earlier this holiday afternoon, I had an epiphany while feasting with a few members of my Christian family and my parents. You see, through the last year, I had a friend that God brought into my life, temporarily, it seems, who had a deep impact on me, proving to be a great catalyst for my growth in Christ. I’ve had a hard time letting go, largely because I recognized that God was behind our friendship, and it’s been many years since I had that strong of a friend.
How deeply do we feel that each of us here in this church is our God-given friend? What about our brethren in other congregations who we only see occasionally, if not only once?
Are we taking each other for granted? Are we taking our Christian family—our parents, siblings, spouses, and children—for granted? God gave them to us. Am I taking them for granted, or am I investing time and energy into getting to know them, appreciating them, and loving them as God would have me do?
I know I have failed in that.
