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James 2:23, …and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.

Much discussion in life is given to the relationship between husband and wife. It has been a widely accepted concept that a husband’s best friend is naturally his wife. I have taken some exception to this as I find that friends and spouses occupy different positions in our lives. I love both but their final place in the hierarchy or rank of my life is substantially different. My wife holds a place of honor only superseded by God Himself. I am to cleave to my wife. The result is a relationship unlike any other human relationship that man can have even with his own children. To become one with another is to lose myself to some degree, and blend with the soul of another.

Friends are important and significant but they are not in such a sacred position. Other human relationships pale in comparison to this most loving bond. There is no detectable seam in this new life. In effect one becomes something other than what they used to be. Whenever I see married people in conflict, something often forgotten is that they are actually fighting themselves. Some have never understood or attempted to live that bond. To live out this relationship takes love on a level that is often misunderstood and rarely practiced – even by those who are married.

The dominant action right after love is forgiveness. If we cannot forgive someone, we cannot continue in life with them. The absence of either of these traits is certain death to the relationship. To love here is to risk being patient to the point that I lose time of my own. I am to be kind and not jealous so that the blind deceit of my own self-importance doesn’t hinder me from serving. Not being braggadocios and arrogant should prohibit me proclaiming the virtue of myself above my relationship. If it is all about me then it is no relationship at all. It does not act on its own, seek its own, or retaliate vengefully. If I really love someone, I seek their better advancement, even if it means my loss in the matter. Love bears, believes, hopes and endures in all things. (1 Corinthians 13) The world uses the word “love” with an alternate definition and application. God sees love as an attribute which He defines and His people demonstrate. Friends and wives are both to be loved and valued.

In the final analysis God is our best friend. No one can claim to do more for us, care more about us, love us more, or have more to do with our very existence. He alone has reached into the graves of our lives and offers salvation from ourselves. He alone has seen every action and every thought and never once stopped loving us. He alone gave us the breath of life, and He alone will determine our eternity. He rains down every good and perfect gift we see, and the ones we don’t. He alone has given us the path to righteousness, and enables us to walk it through the blood of His only child.

I love my Lord. He is my best friend. He holds a place of honor and righteousness above all. My wife holds a place no other on earth can begin to challenge. She is more than a part of my life – she is a part of me – she and I have become “us.” (Genesis 2) My friends and family are blessings from my Father and I cherish them deeply. They have walked with me and continue to do so even to this day. I am thankful for all that my Father has given me. I try to keep relationships in the right order – all important in their respective places.