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Welcome to Day 2164 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Gospel of John \u2013 31 \u2013 Qualities of a Friend\xa0\u2013 Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message \u2013 09/18/2022 The Gospel of John \u2013 Part 4 Confirmation Of The Word \u2013 Qualities Of A Friend \xa0 Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Last week, Jesus taught us through the allegory of the vine and branches. The emphasis was on bearing fruit by staying attached to the main vine so that we could receive the nourishment of the Holy Spirit. To do this, we must remain in Christ as we read in John 15:5 \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;\xa0apart from me you can do nothing.\xa0 \xa0 Our scripture for today is John 15:12-17, starting on page 1677 in the Pew Bible. Jesus gives us the command to \u201cLove each other. Follow along as I read. \u201c12\xa0My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.\xa013\xa0Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one\u2019s life for one\u2019s friends.\xa014\xa0You are my friends\xa0if you do what I command.\xa015\xa0I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master\u2019s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.\xa016\xa0You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you\xa0so that you might go and bear fruit\u2014fruit that will last\u2014and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.\xa017\xa0This is my command: Love each other. \xa0 Let me start with a story today. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a lonely genius. Born to aging parents in Devonshire, England, the youngest of ten children, he did not receive the love most children are given and, therefore, never had the opportunity to cultivate close relationships. His father died before his tenth birthday, after which he was sent to a boarding school notorious for its harsh treatment, and then to live with various family members. Nevertheless, his caretakers did recognize his exceptional intellect and enrolled him at Cambridge, where he quickly distinguished himself as a scholar. \xa0 Coleridge became known for three notable habits in school: voracious reading, prolific writing, and radical thinking. Eventually, his philosophical pursuits led him away from his father\u2019s faith and away from Cambridge before graduating. He accumulated a large debt, pursued French philosophy, attempted to found a utopian society in Pennsylvania, married, divorced, became hopelessly addicted to opium, and eventually managed to estrange himself from family and friends. \xa0 Then, he met William Wordsworth, who befriended the rootless genius. This led to his most productive period of writing and publishing, during which he wrote the poems \u201cRemorse,\u201d \u201cLove,\u201d \u201cKubla Khan,\u201d and his most famous work, \u201cThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner.\u201d The main character in this emotional autobiography laments, Alone, alone, all, all alone; Alone on a wide, wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. \xa0 Eventually, Wordsworth discontinued his relationship with Coleridge, who became excessively dependent upon opium, separated from his second wife, abandoned his children, and could no longer sustain any meaningful workload. He moved into the home...