I Have Called You Friends

I lost a dear friend to cancer last week. Dale Young and I were stand partners in orchestra. I admired his ability to lead. He had confidence to play out when I was scared to make a sound. I played better because he was at my side.

But that’s not the reason I’m going to miss him. I miss him because he was my friend. We had our own set of private jokes about pencils, parentheses and notes we wished we could play. His smile and friendliness blessed me. His sense of humor made rehearsing until 10:00 pm bearable.

I valued Dale for who he was, not for what he accomplished in life or how he played violin. I wonder if that’s the true message of death.

As a Christian, I am confident I will go to heaven when I die, not because of anything I’ve done, but because Christ paid the price for me on the cross. But I don’t look forward to death. There are too many things I want to do first. Many of these are things I want to do for God.

Death is God’s way of telling me He doesn’t value me for the things I can do for Him on earth. He values me for who I am. And someday He wants to enjoy me in heaven. Just my presence. Not my acts of service. As Jesus said in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants…but I have called you friends.”