"Name Your Favorite Bible Verse!" (Proverbs 17:17)

“Please call me when you have a chance. I want to share with you what your son said at our church retreat.”

The voicemail message was intriguing. Our family had just returned from our annual Labor Day church retreat, held in the San Bernardino mountains. A dear brother in the Lord was the guest speaker for the youth and my son and daughter were privileged to hear his sermons and gifted teachings. We frequently spoke with him at the retreat so we were surprised to receive this message from him. When my wife and I called him on the phone, he was in a jovial spirit.

“Well! I have to tell you what your son shared at our last session. I asked all of the guys to name their favorite Bible verse. Most of them said things like ‘John 3:16’ or ‘Genesis 1:1’ but when it was your son’s turn, he unhesitatingly stated Proverbs 17:17! It caught all of us by surprise! And then he recited it for us!”

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)

I was beaming! I have been creating a collection of Bible verses for my son. Above each verse, I place a photo that illustrates the meaning of the verse. For that particular verse, I placed a photo of my son with one of his closest friends, a dear sister in Jesus Christ. Everyday, we review the Bible verses and at least once a month, we review this particular verse in Proverbs. My son has memorized other Bible verses such as John 3:16, John 14:6 and Isaiah 40:28 but he has never quoted Proverbs 17:17. Since he has hundreds of verses in his folders, I did not expect him to have many other verses memorized. I told my friend that I am thankful to God for bringing this sweet young lady into the my son’s life. I was sure that because of her kindness, my son remembered the Bible verse.

It was a very special God moment and this verse in Proverbs is a beautiful reminder of how God works through the different members of the Church to bless one another.

God has truly blessed my son and my family with caring brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

Thank you Jesus!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.