There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. – Proverbs 18:24
When my husband was a young boy, a dog attacked him. The incident resulted in several scars on his face, and afterwards kids at school would laugh and call him names. He had a good friend, though, who he had grown up playing with. However, once they graduated to a larger school, the relationship changed. When they were by themselves the boy treated him like a good friend, but when the boy’s new friends were around, he would ignore my husband.
This story brought to mind our friendship with Jesus. Today’s focus verse reminds us that Jesus is a Friend above all friends. In John 15:13 we read, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” and that is exactly what Jesus did for each of us. Why? Because He loves us and believes we are worth even the greatest sacrifice. He is the best Friend we could ever have.
Yet, are we ever guilty of being Jesus’ friend only when no one else is around? Peter thought he was a good friend of Jesus, but when his friendship was tried, he denied Christ three times. Such trials will come to all of us, and they can separate us from Jesus if we are careless. We must takes steps beforehand to make sure our friendship with Jesus will stay strong even when it is tested.
One good way to safeguard our relationship with Jesus is to spend time in prayer. We not only gain much-needed strength through prayer, but the more we communicate with our Lord, the more He communicates with us. The more we praise and thank Him, the more He blesses us. Someone once said that he never has to say “Amen” to end his prayer because his prayer goes on all day long. That is a sign of a strong prayer life! The channels to Heaven are open to us; we already have the ear of Jesus. He is waiting for us to take time to deepen our relationship with Him.
Another way to strengthen our friendship is to read God’s Word and memorize it. The Bible is a powerful weapon. It can defeat any lies that the enemy of our souls would use to try to separate us from Jesus. David tells how he hid the Word in his heart so he would not sin, and also said that God’s Word is like a light for his path (Psalm 119:11,105). God’s Word keeps us in His way and provides encouragement and guidance when we do not know what to do.
Let us not be the kind of friend who pushes Jesus aside when other friends are around. Our best Friend deserves so much more than that! Instead, may the beauty of our relationship with Jesus cause others to seek after Him too.