Old Friends

There's a Ben Rector song that celebrates the blessing of having old friends. He says, "You can grow up, make new ones, but truth is, there's nothing like old friends." A few months ago, I got a call from an old friend. We worked together on staff at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. He was traveling through our area and wanted to meet up. What was supposed to be a one hour lunch turned into an all-afternoon conversation. It was good to catch up and to reflect on some of the experiences we had together. I left our conversation encouraged. We can't return to the past, but old friends help us to remember. Those reminders are important to our present and can influence our future. The Last Apostle John was the last living apostle. The rest had been martyred for their faith. When Jesus was with the apostles, John was the youngest of the twelve. He was one of the three that made up Jesus' inner circle. At the last supper, it was John who leaned on Jes