I’ll Be Your Best Friend

February 7, 2008

By Paul Veliquette

It seems like just yesterday we brought our baby son Jason home from the hospital. Now he is grown and leading his own family. We have always loved spending time with our children. We were both mom and dad and friends.

When Jason was young, he would sometimes say with a little mischievousness, “I’ll be your best friend.” The kicker was there was something I had to do or some favor he needed in order for me to win the honor of being his best friend.

The proposition goes like this: “Do what I want, give me what I need, and then I will be your best friend.” The thought occurs to me that often we treat our Heavenly Father exactly like that. “I will be your best friend, God, if only You do this for me!” Our faith is based on God’s satisfying our every whim and desire. When He does not come through as we expect, we say, “God where are You?” without stopping to realize faith is not based on what God does, but who He is.

Recently, I was introduced to a young lady named Hope Herman here in Windsor, Colo. She just turned 11 years old in November 2007. Hope lost her daddy to cancer within the last two years and was herself diagnosed with a type of bone cancer in her femur a year ago. After a lot of prayer and treatment, she was declared to be in remission in February 2007. But last October, Hope was diagnosed with an aggressive type of acute leukemia.

Recently her story was shared at Timberline Church (AG) in Fort Collins. At the conclusion of Pastor Dary Northrop’s sermon, they played a recording of Hope singing the song, “In Christ Alone.” As I watched and listened to this 11-year-old sing this great song, I knew she understood true faith in God. It was not about whether or not God healed her; it was all about who He was in her life. He was her Savior, Lord, and Master.

On January 12 we received word that Hope slipped into eternity in the darkness of night. She is free, she is healed, and she is with Jesus.

They are together for eternity — best friends.

— Paul Veliquette is pastor of Windsor (Colo.) Assembly of God.