Did you have a good time?

I was down in Tupelo, Mississippi earlier this week to attend the funeral of the father of Ben Nelson, one of my oldest, closest friends. We met in seminary nearly 25 years ago. Ben’s dad, like mine, was a priest, and so is he. We have a lot in common. Two other friends of ours from seminary, Scott and Ripp, were at the funeral. The four of us are a pack and when we’re together it’s like we were never apart. I hope you have friends like that too. As I traveled back to Kentucky I was overwhelmed with a wonderful wave of gratitude at the fact that I have friends whose love for each other runs so deep that we effortlessly go to each other in times of need. Don’t misunderstand me, I wasn't impressed with myself for making the trip, I was impressed with God for giving me friends for whom I have such love. Isn’t that what life is for, that manner of friendship?

Ben preached at his father’s funeral and in the sermon he quoted his dad. He said that his father always preached the same funeral sermon, so now he was preaching it one last time for his dad. This is what he said, “When you get to the gates of heaven, God’s not going to ask for an accounting; that’s not necessary for many reasons. He’s going to ask, ‘Did you have a good time? Did you enjoy the gifts I have given you including the friends I have given you to be with? Then God’s going to smile and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Did you have a good time? Did you enjoy the people I gave you as friends?  Life gives us a lot to be upset about. It always has, and I suspect it always will. That’s just how it goes. But God also gives us a lot to be delighted and happy about. We’re here to have fun. Take care, be loving, stick up for people who are downtrodden, and make sure you have a good time too. Find some friends, become good friends, become loving friends, let the love between you run deep, then deeper still. When you get to heaven and God says, “Did you have a good time?”  You can say, “Oh yes, it really was a good time. Thank you, thank you, it really was a lot of fun. And those friends you gave me, mercy, they were wonderful. They made it worth the trip. It was a good time.”