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Good friends are like comfortable old shoes. They mold to the shape of your feet. They're like you. So it's tempting to look for friends who are similar to you in surface ways: someone who's about the same age, not too much richer or poorer, who lives near you, who has common interests. It helps if the kids are at the same stage as yours. He should have fun doing the same things you like. And of course he should speak the same language!

But a scene from heaven might help you rethink those requirements for friendship. Jesus allowed John a glimpse into heaven. And what he found there was astounding. First, he saw people from every tribe of Israel. But after that he saw an even larger crowd, "a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues" (7:9). They were all wearing white robes. (Their sins had been washed away.) And they were all doing the same thing—praising God. Even the angels and the heavenly elders knelt down and joined in their praise.

If you'll be a part of such a diverse body in heaven, you may as well get started on it now. The rich diversity of God's people will enrich your own life and prepare you for eternity. (See also 1 Kings 19; 2 Corinthians 2:14-17.)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9

How diverse are your friends? What are some ways you might gain more diverse friends?

Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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