For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Matthew 12:50
I’ve been rejected and neglected, disrespected and much worse,
By friends and kin who in the end seem like such a curse.
I’ve been used, I’ve been abused, I’ve been refused, I don’t know why,
They’re all the same, oh what a shame; they’re gonna pain me till I die.
But the further they would bring me down,
The more I hear the silent sound,
My ears of faith do hear it,
The Voice of God’s own Spirit.
Reaching, teaching, preaching,
My heart and soul beseeching.
As men do push me far away,
It brings me closer as I pray.
To Jesus there through thick and thin,
My Lord and Savior and my best Friend.
When all the world casts me aside,
The more in Christ I shall abide.
Can it be a good thing when I’m treated as a leper?
To their noses held so high they sneeze me out like pepper.
But solitude has a perk far greater than the earth,
It draws me to my Savior, the Source of greatest worth.
Loneliness I shall not know for He always holds my hand,
He has a clean and Holy touch unlike infectious grip of man.
Jesus is the friend, who’s closer than a brother,
He Loves me far beyond the love of even my own mother.
And though I may not see Him now as hard as I may stare,
I cannot see my beating heart and I cannot see the air.
But both will keep my frame alive as He does with my soul,
His unseen grace in all these worth more than tons of gold.
And though my frame does waste away with every passing day,
My soul in faith grows bigger, stronger as I walk within His way.
Trust now not in princes, for men will always let you down,
But trust the King of Glory, the greatest Friend that can be found.
Tertius
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24
A note about “A Brother Like No Other”: When I quit drinking I lost not only a nasty habit, but some of my friends, who continued to imbibe in this self-medication, fell by the wayside as well. Several years later when I put down the “ganga” more disappeared. About a year ago I quit going to my church where I am a member and haven’t had much contact with the congregation. Sunday mornings I lead a worship service at the local jail, but most of those parishioners are transient at best (which is good!) Kids are grown and gone and due to a busy schedule, my wife and I cross paths every day, but not for long. Where someone lacking a relationship with other humans may feel lonely, I embrace my solitude (solitude of human companionship, I should say) as time to spend with Him who created me with this very purpose in mind. Though some may think Him the strong silent type they couldn’t be more wrong. Strong? Yes! Silent? No way! But He sometimes speaks in a whisper and you must listen very close with an open heart and mind.
I Kings 19:12.