Friendship
On the evening of March 25th, 1992, Bill was teaching a class in marketing at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, America, when his upper aorta spontaneously ruptured.
Pain clenched him. Colour drained from his face. A student called the paramedics and Bill was rushed to a hospital, before being transferred to another facility for seven hours of emergency surgery. There was a 2% chance of coming out alive.
His friends began arriving at the hospital. First one, then two, then five, and finally fifteen huddled together for hours of intense prayer. They comforted his wife and children. And that night, all fifteen camped in and around the room so they could be close to him and his family during their crisis.
Miraculously Bill survived. Through the years Bill had devoted himself to cultivating close and authentic relationships with other Christians.
What a contrast to a relative of his. He was a Christian too, but he had never opened his life to others in a meaningful way. He never reached out to “do life” in community. He spent his time rattling around alone in his safe and secure environment, unbloodied by conflict but untouched by the grace of deep, abiding friendships.
After he died there was a brief service at his graveside. Bill and his wife attended, but what struck them was: in the vast expanse of the cemetery, they were the only ones who had showed up for him. It was the legacy of a friendless life.
We have a choice. God has given us the desire and capacity to enter into community with others and thereby drive a stake through the loneliness that would otherwise darken our lives. Friendship as part of a community is a choice and a decision.
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