Jesus: BFF

“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24. 

Do you have a friend—a real friend?  I know you have golfing buddies, shopping partners, backyard barbeque pals and neighbors.  You have professional colleagues, co-workers, and socializing schmoozes.  You have former schoolmates, club members and the old gang.  But do you have a friend who will really impact your life?  

You need a friend who will stick with you through the hard times. “Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.” -Spurgeon.  You need a friend who will tell you the truth.  “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:6. You need someone who will look you in the eye and say, “You are wrong.  You need to change your ways.  You need to swallow your pride, slay your ego and confess that you are a sinner in need of salvation.” You need a friend who will put himself out for you.  People have limitations, boundaries and deadlines.  Welcomes’ wear out, loans come due and time expires.  Very few, if any, will watch their own dreams fade away while they help you pursue yours. 

You need a friend who will be there when no one else is. “A true friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” -Samuel Johnson. You need a friend who knows what you are really like, but loves you anyhow. You need a friend who wants nothing in return except your friendship. You need a friend who will put all his resources at your disposal. Simply put, you need a friend whom you cannot do without. “In the progress of personality, first comes the declaration of independence; then a recognition of interdependence.” -Henry Van Dyke

Jesus is the Friend you need! Jesus will stick with you through the hard times. “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” Matthew 28:20. Jesus will tell you the truth.  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6. Jesus will put Himself out for you. “Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5. Jesus knows the real you, but loves you anyhow.  That’s grace!  Jesus will remove the sin, but leave the personality intact.  Jesus wants nothing in return except you. He wants you to love Him the way He loves you. Jesus will put all His resources at your disposal. He is the Healer of Galilee, the Miracle Worker, the Multiplier of bread and fishes, the Crucified Lamb, the Risen Savior.  Simply put, Jesus is the one friend you cannot do without. What a Friend! 

He left the pristine purity of heaven to slog through the muck of the earth;He forfeited the company of holy angels to hang with corrupt humanity;He traded beauty for ugliness, ecstasy for misery, pleasure for pain, life for death;He gave everything for nothing to pay a debt He did not owe;He could not have His life taken from Him, so He willingly laid it down.  What a friend!