Chaps' Tent: Being a true friend can help everyone

On Saturdays, I breakfast at Umatilla’s Combat Café with a family I grew up with.

There are three brothers and a sister left. They consider me as an unofficial part of their family. It’s a sense of belonging and true friendship.

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I grew up in the small town of Altoona, Florida where many families were related, and we all felt a real sense of community.

It’s unfortunate that in the changes that have taken place over the years, that the norm seems to be that both husband and wife usually work outside the home, that child care for pre-schoolers is a must in most situations, and that families with grown children are now separated by distance.

So daily and weekly gatherings are a thing of the past. It’s sad to say that many people don’t even know their neighbors, so that a sense of community doesn’t exist.

As I study the life, words, and works of Jesus, as well as the Bible as a whole, I note that family and community are important, and was part of Jesus’ lifestyle and that of the early church.

Using your imagination when reading the stories, you should be able to visualize Jesus visiting and dining with others, not only strangers, but those He considered as friends. (c,f, John 15.15).

I realize that most of you have friends. I’m also cognizant of the fact that there are a lot of friendless and lonely folks out there. If you know any of them, I encourage you to make contact and be a friend. A trite but true quip, to have a friend, be a friend.

CHAPS' OUT!

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Being a true friend can help everyone