"But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.'" (Luke 15:29)
Friends are important to us. Most of us cannot do without them. But each vacation we note that our friends change. We live in a world that is changing every day. Things we might have had in common with our friends one year ago we no longer have in common today. One couple found that a two-day visit with friends had to be cut short because change had taken place and tensions arose.
This was probably just a little of the feeling that the brother of the prodigal son experienced when his younger brother came home and their father scheduled a big feast, inviting a host of friends.
The older brother had stood by his father through all those long years and he had never gotten so much as a goat to barbecue for himself and some friends!
Lord, to have friends! Good friends are important for our well-being. A friend is someone in whom I can trust. A friend can help me over some of the rough spots of life. A friend is someone who can be leaned upon.
Vacation or holiday is a time to cultivate friends, both old friends and new friends. Too often, however, we tend to forget that one Friend who will stand by us through thick and thin and who never changes -- Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
If your vacation consists of seeing friends, if it is one of cultivating old friends or new friends, don't forget the best Friend of all -- and don't forget that He is more than a friend; He is the Savior of all!
PRAYER: Lord, to have friends! Give me faith to hold Jesus close to my heart as my personal Friend forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Taken from "Lord, Vacation Time is Here" (out of print), copyright 1977, International Lutheran Laymen's League.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Kings 4-6 James 2
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