Most will recognize the title of this blog as a quote from Ecclesiasties 4:9-12 in which we are reminded of our need for companions as we move through life. I was reminded of this wonderful life truth as I was contemplating a sermon I heard yesterday. The illustration of the Sandhill Crane was used to explain the relationship between those who lead and those who are led. One highlighted characteristic of these migrating birds was the fact that when one of the birds in someway becomes unable to fly and must land, a second bird drops from the sky and lands to be with the crippled or incapacitated bird. This illustrates that "two are better than one."
After declaring that two are better than one, the author of Ecclesiasties goes on to explain the benefit of having with us a friend, spouse, accountability partner, or other person who is abiding in Christ as we journey together into the presence and heart of God. The author says if one falls, the other can lift him up; the warmth of true Christian friendship warms the cold and difficult moments in life; there is a strength for the journey which rises from such true fellowship.
The value of such fellowship has been proven in my life as recent as this week. I was ill for a couple of days, I had not been sleeping well, and I had begun to think in critical and ungrateful ways. This led to my sharing with a friend, who challenged me to rethink life from the Lord's perspective and encouraged me toward a more thankful heart. Such a blessed experience should be shared by all of the Lord's children. At times one will be the weaker, the other the stronger. These roles reverse at other times. Let us not only abide, but let us abide together. For as we do so, we will form a three-fold cord with each other and our Lord; this cord is not easily broken. We are in fact a gift and provision to one another, given by the Lord for our journey together through life into the heart and presence of God.
