A Friend So Faithful

A brother from my church recently shared how his daughter had been told by her best friend that she no longer wanted to be friends. As you can imagine, this young girl’s feelings were greatly hurt. There are few emotions that sting greater than being betrayed or rejected. The pain literally sears our soul.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a friend who would never betray, leave, or reject us?

A friend who could totally relate to the hurt of betrayal and rejection because he or she had experienced far worse than you could ever imagine. Would you want such a friend?

There is such a person. His name is Jesus.

On the night of His greatest betrayal, betrayed by a kiss and abandonment, Jesus said these words:

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

God in the flesh can be my friend, nay, wants to be my friend. Jesus is not just a figurehead of a religion who is unapproachable. Jesus Christ came to earth so He could not only show us how to live life, but also to experience life as we know it. His mission was to redeem us to God the Father, but His life on earth is an example for us how life can be.

There is an old popular 19th Century hymn by Joseph M. Scriven and the second verse is fitting for our subject:

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can Jesus actually be our faithful friend? Can we have an intimate relationship with God the Creator of all things? The Bible is filled with affirmative answers.

One such example was Moses:

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11a)

I confess I used to be uncomfortable calling Jesus my friend. That is because I didn’t think of Him as my friend. He was definitely my Lord and Savior, but calling Christ my friend almost felt blasphemous. That’s because I didn’t know Jesus like I needed to.

My limitation was my faith. There were parts of my life, and at times I fall into this trap, that I didn’t allow Jesus access. If I am going to believe in Jesus, then all of me needs to believe in Him. Every part of my life must be abandoned to Christ. When I do that, then I become a friend of Jesus:

“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” (James 2:23)

A common reaction to rejection is to never allow ourselves to be hurt again. We refuse to make friends in the hopes of not experiencing a similar hurt. While that sentiment is understandable, it is very destructive.

You see beloved, after a while your heart becomes so hard that you no longer have the ability to be a friend. Proverbs 18:24 tells us, “A man who has friend must himself be friendly.” We cannot put ourselves in some imaginary cocoon in the hopes of never being hurt. We do not realize that we are inflicting the pain of loneliness on ourselves. King Solomon warned against this:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

“Woe to him who is alone…” Woe meaning “grievous distress, affliction, or trouble.”

When we close our hearts, we bring such calamity to our lives. We inflict greater pain upon ourselves than any other could ever attempt.

When we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, He becomes our friend and we learn how to be His friend by studying His life through His word.

There is someone with whom you can share all your sorrows, a friend so faithful.

His name is Jesus and He knows our every weakness.

He is waiting for you to take all your cares to Him in prayer.

Won’t you do so today?

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2016 David Jeffers

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