While I appear to be a reasonably nice, easy-to-get-along person – at least that's my humble opinion – not everyone is of the same opinion. I have been called a bum, heathen, heretic, jerk and pushy. The one I like best of all is a person who is too outspoken for his own good.

My dad used to tell me that a person who isn't criticized now and then, never does anything. I know he must be proud of what I've become. I digress a tad because I was going to start this article about letters. I'll try to tie this together.

Paul sent a letter to a church at Philippi, Macedonia. This was the first church he established in Europe, and from what history tells us from reading most of his other communications, this congregation was very close to him and he loved them very much.

There is something about a letter from a friend that says so much, because this letter tells us that they care, miss us and that our friendship cannot be stopped, even though there might be many miles separating us. A letter also turns on that little camera in our minds because as we read, we can see that person and can even visualize the story they are writing about. It is almost as though we are right there together experiencing the same thing at the same time.

What about your love letters? I'll bet that most of you can remember writing to your sweetheart when you were first dating. Maybe you were on a business trip, vacationing with your family, you can fill in the story. Most of you saved a lot of those letters, and why not? We don't discard our great memories.

Julie found a box of letters that her dad had written to her mom when they were first dating. I used to go fishing with her dad and our fishing talk was not even close to the stuff he wrote. The man was a smoothy and could write stuff like Shakespeare.

I think of Paul's letters much the same way. This one was sent to those he loved, and when I read it and you read it, even though it may be thousands of years old, it has been saved for us. His words are just as fresh, and as meaningful, and as new as last week.

"I thank my God for you. You are always in every one of my prayers. I am thankful for your partnership with me in the gospel." He calls us partners, not pastor, people, not congregation, but as minister to minister, friend to friend. We take his advice, because he is our friend. Sometimes we have a tendency to not take advice, even as friends.

"If you were my friend, you wouldn't say that. Some friend you are. I thought you were going to help, not criticize."

If your definition of a friend is one who always agrees, always lends money, goes along with anything I do, well, that's one opinion. But if your definition of a friend is someone who loves you enough to tell you when you are wrong, won't agree with you when you say something really stupid, tells you when you're drunk and can't drive, tells you the truth even when it hurts, that's another definition.

"It is right for me to feel this way about you, because I care for you."

Now remember, we are reading Paul's letter and we expect that he wrote a letter that is historically, theologically and necessary regardless of the timeliness. Paul is worried abut our ultimate destiny and so he is willing to take a lot of hostility in the process. He was and is our friend.

And so is the greatest friend we have ever had, have and will have. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Greater love has no man than this, that he may lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, but I call you friends!

Jesus is saying, "Here is my hand, take it. Here is my love, accept it. Here are my promises, believe them. Here are my commands, follow them."

Have you ever wanted such a friend? Here He is. Have you ever hoped for such a friend? Jesus is the One. Jesus is ours forever!

Thanks, God!