Love, Friendship, Trust

I went to a wedding a few days ago, which was wonderful, and the minister gave a talk on love. Unsurprising, really. And it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before; but it is worth thinking about.

He started with some quotes about love and marriage, including this one:-

Which is, apparently, very well known - though it's a bit of a surprise who said it. Not a guy well known for saying positive sounding things. And this is positive, because he's not only diagnosing a problem (unhappy marriages), he's also providing a solution (friendship). A straightforward, common sense view of how marriage should work - a lot of people go on about love being what marriage is all about, and they mean romance/feeling good; but it's a lot more than that.
He did actually talk about romance as well, but he was absolutely for the idea that love is more than that. Things like sharing and forgiving, that are vital parts of any relationship. So, I started thinking about my friends and how I could better love them, be a better friend.

And a few days later (yes, the wedding was during the week), the talk about church was about being friends with Jesus - or about Him being friends with us, as He said He would be. And the important point of the talk was that friendship involves trust. Both that it is a place where trust can grow, and that trust is needed for the relationship to grow. And what applies to our relationship with Him applies similarly to all our friendships...