Henri Nouwen wrote, “We need friends. Friends guide us, care for us, confront
us in love, console us in times of pain.
Although we speak of "making friends," friends cannot be
made. Friends are free gifts from
God. But God gives us the friends
we need when we need them if we fully trust in God's love.
“Friends
cannot replace God. They have
limitations and weaknesses like we have.
Their love is never faultless, never complete. But in their limitations they can be signposts on our
journey towards the unlimited and unconditional love of God. Let's enjoy the friends whom God has
sent on our way.”
God is the source of unconditional love. Only God is Real Love. We can be channels of it from time to
time. As Nouwen says, in our limitations
we can be “signposts” to others on their "journey towards the unlimited
and unconditional love of God."
I see in my life the truth of Nouwen's statement: "God
gives us the friends we need when we need them if we fully trust in God's
love."
Not too far from where we live in DeLand is Blue Springs
State Park. You can rent an inner
tube there and carry it up to the spring and float down the run on that clear,
cool water. The friends who
understand Real Love and who have flowed into my life in recent years have
given me the feeling of being carried along on the clear, cool stream of God's
love.
This past week, I had an opportunity to talk to someone
about Real Love. I offered to
introduce her to "The Essentials of Real Love" Seminar on DVD. Nothing gives me more happiness in
ministry than teaching Real Love.
That is because I see so clearly that we can be the friends God sends
into the lives of others, if they will receive God's gift. I know that I have limitations and
weaknesses, but I also know that I can contribute from time to time to the flow
of God's love. I want to do that whenever, however, and as often as I can. I see that you, my friends in God’s Real
Love, can do the same. We don't replace God, but we can be friends to people who
need us to be a gift from God.
