I have a good friend by the name of Peter. I consider him a friend for two reasons. One he doesn’t aggravate me and two he doesn’t want to kill me. Come to think of it, scratch out number one, he does aggravate me. As for number two, just because he doesn’t want to kill me doesn’t mean the thought hasn’t crossed his mind. Well, at least he is my friend. I think that shows how low my standards for friendship are.
Seriously, Peter is my friend because he accepts me, warts, and all. I grew up in the New York metropolitan area and if you have ever lived here you would know that we locals can be very sarcastic. I grew up a wise guy. If my mother believed in punishing a dirty mouth with soap, I would have had soap instead of teeth. I am a very sarcastic person and always have been. The problem is many people around me are uncomfortable with this. Because I work in a job in which I have to be sensitive to the feelings of others, I have had to learn to tone the sarcasm down. I must keep my natural wise guy tendencies to myself. But Peter is just like me. He grew up in Queens and we have the same nasty attitude. He tells me that he can beat me in basketball, artificial knees, and all. I tell him that I can strike him in out anytime, anywhere - ignoring the fact that the man was on his way into Major League Baseball before an injury ended his career. We are both free to give each other a hard time. We both feel comfortable in each others presence. He accepts me as I am. I don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing. Even if I say something stupid, he would still be my friend.
The other reason I consider him a friend is the support we give each other. Peter has had multiple operations on his knees and I have supported him through those tough times. I have been with him in the hospital, and I have been with him on the phone when the distance was too great. And he is not the only one who has gone through the wringer. My health is good, but my work situation always seems to be shaky. No matter how well I do, the jobs seem to be pulled out from under me. Peter has been a big help to me whenever the job crises’ have come.
Jesus calls the disciples his friends (1944.6). What a profound statement. The creator of a universe - friends with a handful of normal average people. And the Urantia Book says that it was Jesus’ friendship with the disciples that sustained them during the time of the crucifixion. Jesus was loyal, trusting, faithful, and loved everyone. Jesus accepted those men and supported them through the tough times. But we expect this of Jesus. We would expect Jesus to treat us as a friend if he were to appear in front of us.
But why? Because this is the ideal and he lived the ideal life. In the ideal life everyone would accept us for who we are, treat us with respect and support us in time of need. Everyone would do this regardless of how well we know each other. We don’t have to be happy with each other all of the time to be friends. But in a friendly universe, all people accept, support, and love each other. And I think that we can do that. I know we can do it because God can help us to do it. We can say the wrong things, blurt out stupid annoying stuff and generally get on each others nerves and still be friends. After all Jesus would still be my friend, sarcasm and all.
God’s blessings be upon you all,
William Whitehead
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