We've probably all used the expression "so-and-so is an old friend," meaning that the person is a long-time friend. I'm beginning to discover that the phrase is taking on a more literal meaning now that I am retired. My old friends really are old...and so am I - at least in the eyes of the twenty-and-thirty-somethig generations.
The problem with "old" friends is that we sometimes lose them. This past week my wife and I attended the funeral of such an old friend. By our standards she was not really old - just in her mid sixties. Two weeks ago we visited her in the hospital. We reminised together. We laughed together. And we prayed together. Exactly one week later we received news that God had taken her home.
We attended her funeral, which, because she was a Christian, was a real celebration of her life and faith. There were humourous moments as speakers recalled the funner side of our friend. There were serious moments as some recalled her committment to Christ. There were moments of joyful reflection as we professed our belief that for a Christian "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
One of the beautiful things about Christianity is that our "old" friends become our "forever" friends. While we cannot imagine what Heaven is like, we have the assurance of Jesus that it is a real place and that we will continue to have fellowship there with Him and with one another.
My God keep us faithful and may all our old friends remain with us forever.
