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The Pinnacle of Friendship

2 Timothy 1:16

In 2 Timothy, Onesiphorus provided Paul a friendship that reached down into the fabric of everyday life. But friendship is not simply love in everyday action. Friendship is loyalty in the time of trouble.

Proverbs 17:17 begins: "A friend loves at all times." But the rest of the verse says: "and a brother is born to adversity." When Onesiphorus visited Paul, he was not afraid or ashamed of associating with someone in chains who was being treated as a criminal. Paul could not help that he was in prison. Onesiphorus accepted Paul for what he was and where he was.

That is exactly how the church ought to be. More than anything else, it ought to be a place where people can be what they are. Christ wants His church to be a fellowship where people can come in and say, "I am sunk; I am beat; I have had it," and be accepted regardless. If Christians could make people feel so loved and wanted, there wouldn't be a building in the world big enough to hold all those who would come.

Only one person has ever arrived at such a pinnacle of friendship, and His name is Jesus. He perfectly fulfills all the requirements of a true friend. His loyal love for us has been translated into the most self-sacrificing action the world has ever known. When he said, "I love you," He did it with his life, promising never to leave or forsake those who come to Him in faith.

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