Conference begins at 7pm tonight!
Proverbs 27:5, 6
Better is open rebuke
Than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
Profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Straight from Bruce Waltke, a leading Old Testament commentator: “Secret love is like winking at a girl in the dark; it does neither her nor you any good.” (375) Thank you Mr. Waltke!
A real friendship requires engagement. Zeal is the friend of friendship; lethargy and timidity are its enemies. Friends don’t just dwell next to each other and stroke each other’s egos.
A true friend thinks through the other’s life, is alarmed when he comes upon his buddy’s defects, and will “wound” his friend in order to prevent the defect from settling in.
You see? A friend is not one whom you always feel easy around. That’s the effect of a dog or a stone! (Though a dog can be your friend too in a dog-way.) A friend is one with whom you are ready to endure the awkwardness or even embarrassment of cauterizing conversations.
Hear the wisdom of God. It is not for us to be alone. But neither is it enough for us to be surrounded by a smiling lot of glad-handers or smothered by the kisses of the enemy.
I want friends in CO who will travel to Boston when I go off the deep end. I want church friends who will criticize me whilst still being loyal to our friendship. Sometimes, I need the goad, the prod, the surgeon’s knife, the friend’s cutlass.
My rapport is with him who’s not too timid to wield the rapier.
Bible Reading: Romans 14:1-4
A church is not a place of quarreling over opinions.
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