Some people verbally acknowledge or introduce me and refer to me in their writings as "Our friend Uriah Fields." I am humbled and gratified by this recognition. A friend-friend relationship has no rival, not parent-child, brother-sister or husband-wife, relationship. We did not choose our parents or siblings. And even though we may have chosen our spouses, we may not be friends.

For a number of years at the Mutuality Center for Creatie Living, a human development center in California, I facilitated a seminar called "How Lovers can Become Friends." I became increasingly aware of lovers who were not friends, including those who wanted to be friends and some who were intimate enemies, expressing no desire to become friends. This can also be said of some parents and children and siblings who are not friends.

I consider people calling me "Our friend Uriah Fields" to be a treasure of great value. Surely, I endeavor to be a friend to others but I know that those who refer to me as "Our friend Uriah Fields" are not engaged in a mere quid pro quo act but an act of grace and appreciation. It is well to keep in mind these words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The only way to have a freind is to be one." We learn from Jesus that a relationship can be upgraded from a lesser relationship to a friendship relationship. He said "I no longer call you servants... . Instead I have called you friends." (John 15:15).

If man is the masterpiece of creation, a friend-friend relationship may well be the masterpiece of the new creation. The highest and noblest relationship of all is friend-friend. It transcends any other relationship or gift, be it tangible or intangile, that a person can have with or bestow upon another human being.

My thanks I extend to all who call me "Our friend Uriah Fields." Not just a friend but "our friend." It is significant that Jesus began his model prayer with "Our Father" which is also to say "Our Friend.

Copyright 2011 by Uriah J. Fields