O What A Friend

John 15:14-15 – You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (NIV)

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (NIV)

My neighbour teaches Sunday School. We meet together Monday mornings for prayer and Bible study, and she told me the following story about a boy in her class.

"In Sunday School, after listening to the story of Jonah and the whale, a four-year-old said that he wouldn't be afraid to be caught in the belly of a whale. When I asked him why, he replied that God would save him, because God had promised never to leave him."

I was impressed with her story, and thought, how easy it is for little children to believe in God, and how much friends mean to them.

A friend is someone with whom we share interests, and to whom we turn for companionship. We trust a friend whom we believe accepts us just as we are. My dictionary uses the words to be fond of, love, and free, in describing at length the word friend. It has been said that, if you have one true friend, you are rich indeed! Yet even the closest of human friendships may become estranged or separated.

There is one Friend, however, that even the most sinful human may come to know, should he choose to follow His commands. Then, O what a Friend he or she has in Jesus! Jesus' friends are no longer servants, but members of His family, with whom He shares all the wisdom that He has learned from His Father. Best of all, having been freed from the bondage of the law, we rejoice in finding new life in Him.

Who would not want a Friend who truly "sticks closer than a brother"? (Proverbs 18:24 NIV)

He created all things, left His heavenly home to live, die, and rise again for our salvation. He freely forgives and forgets our confessed sins. Should we not be overwhelmed with amazement, love, and gratitude for such a Friend?

Prayer: Lord, how miraculous is Your grace and goodness that You love us so dearly, and choose to befriend us! Help us to draw close to you, to lean upon You, seeking to serve You as faithful, believing friends. Amen.

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