By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

I Will Be With You Always

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“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20b New International Version

Every time I walk up to the entrance of the Tillamook Cheese Factory, I feel like I am visiting an old friend again.  I grew up on a Jersey dairy in Oregon and eventually owned half the herd by the time Dad and I sold the cows.  I owned many cows, but there was one named Belinda that was special.  She was gentle and calm and nothing bothered her.  She was my showmanship cow and because of her great character I won many showmanship contests.  And she looked exactly like the picture of the Jersey on front of the Tillamook Creamery.

When I was away in college in Michigan, my parents sent word that Belinda had become ill and died.  I cried and realized that I had just lost an old friend, a part of my life that I would never get back.

Have you had dear, close friends that have died and you will never get back?  As I get older, the list of those friends gets longer and longer.  Somedays it feels like I have more friends in the cemetery than I have on my mailing list!  Perhaps you may wonder if there is anyone that will always be with you…

There is One that will never leave you, a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.  He promised that He would always be with you, even to the end of the age.  He is calm and gentle and His peace is unlike any other peace.   This Friend is Jesus, and He will never let you down.  He loved you so much He laid down His life for you.  And He rose from the dead and will never go away.

Many friends will come and go.  Time like an ever rolling stream, bears all its sons away.  But Jesus is always with you, through this life and beyond death and into eternity. Trust Him, He is your Forever Friend. Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado