Friends

Friends are people you make part of your life just because you feel like it. There are lots of other ways people get to be part of other people's lives like being related to each other, living near each other, or working together. But friends are not your friends for no particular reason. They are your friends for no particular reason.

The job you do, the family you have, the way you vote, the achievements and blunders of your life, your religious convictions or total lack of them, are all somehow set off to one side when you are together.

You talk about life, but that is beside the point. You are yourselves the point. The usual distinctions such as male-female, smart-dumb, rich-poor, and old-young cease to matter. You meet on a clean slate every time. Anything may come of it or nothing may come of it. That doesn't matter. Only the meeting matters.

The command is "to love one another." To be His friend we have to be each other's friend, even to lay down our lives for each other (John 15:12-15). It seems like a pretty high price to pay, and Jesus doesn't pretend to pretend otherwise, but the implication is that it is worth every cent.

Christy and Machelle, two of my friends, wrestling to see which one gets to run next to me. We ran 12 miles this morning. Just hanging out.