Life, Death, and in Between

Earlier this week I heard the news that one of my high school classmates had passed away. He went to bed at night and just never woke up. It's a little eerie when you think of someone your own age that just doesn't wake up in the morning.
I was friends with Mark in school. I haven't really kept up with any of my classmates over the past 40 years. Several are my social media friends, but I've really only seen or talked to a couple of them. One of them was very close to our classmate that died. In a message to me (and a few others), he wrote -- "He was my best friend. My best man. Godfather to my children and I to his."

I'm glad that some of my classmates have remained close friends. We (the others in the group message) shared some memories of the good times. I moved away from home right after high school. Back in the day, there was no Facebook, social media or other way to keep in close contact. It would be a decade before the world wide web came into existence and another decade or so before I had a cell phone. Time, distance, and life did their thing and we have become strangers with a few common memories of some good times in a distant past.

It's a little weird when I think about how I do life. Mostly, I do it alone.
Chris and I have been together for about 40 years. We enjoy traveling together, dining out, and being with our kids. We have a few common friends, mostly from church, but we also have pretty different tastes in entertainment and so we often watch TV in separate rooms, or do things apart from each other. When she goes out, it's with a friend or friends.When I go out, it's generally by myself.
I don't generally think much about it and I'm perfectly comfortable as a loner.

But this week has me thinking.

"He was my best friend."
A few years ago I wrote this post about friendship.
I still have few that I would call close friends... and like I said earlier, I'm perfectly comfortable with that.
I had lunch today with the Student Pastor at The Venues. I've only known him for a few months and we are developing a friendship. As I shared some of this with him, I mentioned that it might not be such a good thing that I have no one that would consider me to be their best friend.
His response was basically if you're comfortable with that ... so what. Many people aren't comfortable with themselves.
Hmmm...
I'll have to think on that.

Last Sunday, Pastor Devin (Rev Dev) shared why we are called The Venues.
A venue is a meeting place or a place where an event happens. In the Old Testament, the venue where God met with humans was in the Holy of Holies. It was a very restricted place and only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only on a specific day. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we are now the venue where God meets with humankind! He lives in us and through us.
Even if no one ever says of me, "He was my best friend," perhaps someone will say that they felt better for knowing me. Perhaps I can be a place where they felt kindness; where they felt love. Perhaps I can be a place where they can get a glimpse of Jesus.

Between life and death ...
Oh, that I might be a venue where God meets with people!

John <><