A Time to Cast Away Stones

Today I laid to rest a lifelong friendship. However, it was not death which caused this sad occasion. The different paths of life that we both have chosen has led to the demise of our relationship. A comradeship we had enjoyed for almost 50 years has gone by the wayside and there is nothing to be done to mend the rift. Friendships are built on mutual interests and shared values and when those two elements have dissolved so does the bond.  These are the hard facts of life. In the spiritual realm there is a warfare which cannot be denied, both by our experience and, most importantly, by the claims of Jesus to his disciples. “Suppose ye that I have come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51) Unfortunately, this division can even happen in the family of God.

In life it does us no good to deny the obvious and act as if nothing is wrong when all is wrong in a particular situation. To live in a world where things are as we wished them to be, when they are not, is to deny the reality of life’s many twists and turns. God provides sunny days as well as cloudy nights. Rainy days have their purpose. The experiences of pain and suffering along with the joy and happiness of life's victories are all meant to mold us to become the people of God. The friendships that fall apart should cause us to value the closeness of those to whom we hold dear.

Bad theology always leads to bad behavior and in the case of my friend both roads are being traveled. He has embraced false teaching, and as a result, he has compromised with the world and succumbed to their values. This morning, I typed out a letter to him expressing my thoughts and opinions and then I deleted it. What good would it do? The writer of Ecclesiastes stated that there is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. One of the keys to a successful life is understanding when it's time to cut bait and move on to different fishing holes. Would I prefer reconciliation? Of course, but knowing my friend as I do, I don't see that as a possibility. He will simply justify his actions and theology using scripture as his basis.  That's a hard nut to crack. For both of us it is a time to move on, cherishing the memories that we had and not dwelling on the things that separated us. One of the keys to life is knowing when to walk away. By dwelling on past failures, we never enjoy the present. I know that Heaven will heal the wounds and separation between us but unfortunately, we will both have to wait for that time.