There are hermit souls that live withdrawn

In the place of their self-content:

There are souls like stars, that dwell apart.

In a fellowless firmament;

There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths

Where highways never ran-

But let me live in house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.

This is the first stanza of a wonderfully penned poem by Samual Walter Foss, written in 1899. As a lover of poetry, I have great admiration for this beautiful poem and the smooth cadence of its rhythmic lines. (If you want to read the full poem you can google “House by the Side of the Road” and bring it up).

However, (I’m sure that you were just waiting for my “however”) there is one important point that this poem misses; and it is that, although it is really good to “Be a friend to man”, it is far better to be a “friend” of God. These positions are not mutually exclusive and Mr. Foss may assume this, but unless you are a friend of God you cannot be a true friend of man. Let’s examine this in light of the Word of God.

In James 2:23, it says, “. . . Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the “Friend of God”. The point here it that when you believe God, not only is it imputed or accounted to you as righteousness, but you are also called a friend of God.

Now let’s go to the Gospel of John, chapter 15 and verses 13 to 15. Verse 13) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his FRIENDS. 14) Ye are my FRIENDS, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15) Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you FRIENDS; for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you.

What wonderful benefits there are to being a FRIEND of God: 1) He counts it as righteousness, 2) Jesus lays down His life for us 3) All things that Jesus has heard from God the Father, He makes known to us.

You may wonder, “What is the requirement for us to be a friend of God?”.  The answer is found in verse 14 above; “Ye are my FRIENDS if ye do whatsoever I command you”.  Do whatever I command you; this seems like such a simple thing, yet we often fail to do whatever Jesus commands us to do.

And just what does He command (not suggest) us to do? Well, there are many commandments we must do, but one was called the greatest commandment?  All the others are summed up in this one commandment.  It is recorded in Matthew 22:37-40. Verse 37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. 38) This is the first and great commandment. 39) And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

So, in conclusion, I have two thoughts: 1) In order to be a FRIEND of God we need to LOVE God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and our neighbors as ourselves and 2) Loving our neighbors as ourselves is truly being a friend of man. When we do these two things we will fulfill all the other commandents and all the benefits of God will accrue to us. Is this a good deal or what?

Glory to God,
Hal Mitchell
halmitch@cox.net