09/01/2026
What makes a good friend? When asked this today, this student listed many important qualities: a friend is someone who is there for you, who will listen, who you can talk to. Someone who is kind, patient, and gentle, and who wants to spend time with you. We talked about how these things apply to our friendships with the horses, and that friendships are two-sided. If we expect a horse to want to be near us, we must show them we are safe, gentle, kind, patient, etc.
If we could sum up a good friendship in a phrase, it is simply this: to be “known”.
For discussion today, we explored Psalm 139. We visit this chapter often with EAL clients, for good reason. It is full of comfort and promise and amazing, wonderful things about our God.
Today we looked at it for another reason: we noted how many times this chapter mentions something that God “knows” about us. There are many things, and furthermore, God is always with us through everything. He has all the qualities of a good and dear friend who loves us immensely and has had a plan for our lives since before we were born.
Finally, we looked at how many times this chapter mentions us humans “knowing” something. There is only one mention in verse 14, “Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.”
So how should we live, in light of these things?
Here are Jesus’ words in Jn 15:12-17: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
