A
friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of
adversity. (Proverbs 17:17 NIV).
Friends
love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all
kinds of trouble. (Proverbs 17:17 The Message).
First
I would like to share with you the personal card I recently had
printed.
The
Scripture readings from Proverbs says that a friend loves at all
times (through all kinds of weather). There was a popular song during
the 60s with the words "what the world needs now is love, sweet
love." While unconditionally believing in the truth of this
message, I have always winced at the phrase "sweet love." I
react this way because I know full well that love cannot always be
"sweet" if this means innocuous—kindness cannot always
mean candy. It must also at times be flat-out honest. Otherwise, it
is not love at all. This honesty can be called for in regards to
others and most particularly in regards to oneself. Love never can
be represented by the three silences of "hear no evil; see no
evil; speak no evil" when evil does not refer to sin so much as
simple, obvious, and sometimes painful truth. The need is for
intrepid honesty in facing, speaking, and hearing the truth. Say what
you will about the contentious divisions that sometimes rack our
society, it is undeniably important that people be honest with those
they respect (and love) as fellow citizens even when, especially
when, this causes controversy. The Scripture says that "perfect
love drives out fear." That is a good thing to remember when we
feel constrained to be dishonest about significant matters with those
we love.
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