Good Friend

In 1968 while a college student in Chattanooga, I got a phone call late one evening.  It was my dad, and he informed me that my younger brother had been killed in a tragic one-car accident in Maryland.  I was shocked and devastated.  The next day, I flew home to be with my family.  But I had a roommate who was a dear friend.  Joe W. paid for his own ticket and flew with me so I would not be alone on the trip.  He stayed with my family in Maryland during those dark days and flew back to college with me after the funeral.  What a blessing to have friends that you can rely upon in time of need!  Paul had many such friends whom he listed in the last chapter of Colossians.  Paul never went to the city of Colossi, but Epaphras, who was from Colossi, told Paul all about them.  And when Paul wrote to the church in Colossi, he said in Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”  What a blessing to have good friends like Epaphras and Joe!  Hey, why not BE a good friend like Epaphras and Joe today?!