Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
The Teacher tackles the topic of aloneness. He bemoans a person without a spouse or without a child to inherit the fruit of his or her labor. He realizes it is double trouble because not only does a person not have someone to share profits with but the person also does not have the companionship that comes from marriage or friendship. He calls it not only meaningless but also “a miserable business.”
Friendship is a blessing. Besides companionship, friends are there to help us when we have trouble, pick us up when we fall down, and a source of physical warmth when it is cold. Take a moment and name a couple of your friends. Can you name three ways that they bless you with their friendship? Perhaps you might send them an affirmation of what they mean in your life. Most people like to get a thank you note or a surprise email or a flower or even a smile and a verbal affirmation, “I appreciate…!” thank you, Lord, that you no longer call us servants but call us friends.
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
On the Way to Wonder 