a FRIEND indeed

March 15, 2009

What is a measure of a friend? Availability? Intellectual compatibility? Same interest? Fondness?
I would say that a true friend is the one who is genuinely concerned about your well-being. 

Today I have seen a genuinely true friend, not to me, but to someone else.

A friend of mine named Arvein would always talk to me about his burden, to be able to reach out to his friends. Tell them about the truth of life, judgment, and salvation. He would always ask for tips on how to divert a conversation from something trivial to spiritual. All I could do then was just give tips, he still has to be the one to make the move to tell his friends.

I know that it is far easier to share the gospel to someone you just met, or you have never actually known, than to a friend/a relative/or a loved one. It takes a lot of courage just to come right at them and just share the word. But this friend of mine he had this unquenchable fire in him that his friends must hear the word or else they will go to Hell. He was genuinely concerned, and this amazed me. I started to ask myself, "do I have the same burning passion to reach out to my friends? or am I just another cowardly Christian who is taking my unbelieving friends for granted?"

One Sunday Arvein came to church with one of his friends. He's been dragging this friend of him into church for 3 months (i think). Until one sunday, after our singles' fellowship, Arvein came up to me and asked me to talk to his friend. I asked "about what?". He said, "well, Mark has been going to church with me for sometime, but I have this strong gutt feeling that he is just playing church. And I want him to understand that this is not a game or just another religious thing."
I thought to myself, "how on earth am i to start with that kind of discussion? And besides I'm afraid to speak to him since I barely know the guy!"

Cutting the long story short, I talked to the guy and to my surprise he accepted Christ that day! I was not expecting it! I was blown away by how God speaks to the heart of every man. Mark kept thanking me after we prayed that i took the time to share to him the truth of salvation, but told him that i am the least person he should thank. God set him up for salvation, and his friend Arvein was God's way of reaching out to him. Me, I'm just another tool in the shed, nothing special.

For me Arvein is the truest friend to Mark... That day God taught me about true friendship. I pray that we would be Arveins in our church. A person who loves Jesus so much that he could not keep it to himself, and wants his friends to see what he saw... Grace.