The death of a dear friend

I had a very close friend in Middle and High school. He was like a brother to me. We lost contact with each other after our school years though. My mom called me a several years ago, and she read me an article about my friend Rod. He had just gotten married and was heading back to is Army base with his new bride, he fell asleep at the wheel and ran into a semi, killing both himself and his new wife. I still cry, I miss him so much. He and David would have gotten along so well. Rod died not knowing how important he was to me.
For a long time I blamed myself, I thought there must have been something I could have done that would have changed his path.
I don’t blame myself anymore. But I try hard to be sure I tell people how amazing they are, how important they are, anything positive, because I just don’t know if I will get many more opportunities to interact with them. I have been hurt by so many people, I still get hurt a lot. But God has just poured this deep, sincere love into my heart for everyone. It’s like He has given me this understanding that they are the way they are because of their sin condition. Because Jesus died even for those who abused Him on the cross, even for those who who gambled over His clothing, put a crown of thorns on His head, mocked His kindness and love…Because He told God the Father to forgive them because they just didn’t understand what they were doing. That’s the example my heart wants to follow. I am still such a long way from that, though. Even in my frustration with some people, there is still this love and concern for them that helps me to not stay angry, to not hate them.
In a world that is often so full of hate, criticism, anger and intolerance for good and some bad, it’s wonderful to experience the true power of the Love of God.