10/16/2017
What kind of friend do we have in Jesus? Is He one of those friends whose mouth is filled with honey, and who tells us only those things He knows we want to hear, or is He the kind of friend who delivers the hard truths to us? Is Jesus someone we trust with our darkest sun because He will keep it to Himself, and give us a hand as we struggle to overcome it, or is He a fair weather friend who only stands by us when we make Him look good? Well, Jesus is the truest of friends who counsels us, listens to our troubles, and helps… He has done this even when it cost Him His life… but if we reverse these questions, and ask what kind of friend we are to Him, what do we say? Are we His true friends? Do we give Him our lives in exchange for his friendship?
“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.”
Proverbs 27:9 ESV
The hardest thing for us to hear from anyone is the truth about ourselves. More “friendships” are lost over the truth than any other thing, so is it any wonder that hearing such truth, even from those we thought to call our friends, is so rare, and that only the best of friends would dare share our faults with us? Yet Jesus will. Listen as He speaks to the Samaritan woman He encountered at the well…
“The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.””
John 4:17-18 ESV
She received a hard truth about herself from Jesus that only a trusted friend could share without her taking offense. So what was it about Jesus that gave Him the ability to speak this way to her; a woman He had just met? Why was she able to listen to Him without becoming defensive? It was the Holy Spirit within Him that exuded trustworthiness, kindness, and the sense that this man not only knew her, but would help her, and He was doing so by sharing the truth of God’s grace, and salvation, with her. In this way she recognized Him as a trusted friend. Do we recognize Him in this way too, and moreover, how does He view us?
“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?””
John 4:28-29 ESV
We recognize the sin in our lives by what God, and Jesus say to us in scripture, and because of this many would be followers walk away, but those who hear these things, and accept them to be the revelation of friendship, find exactly what the woman at the well found… trustworthy counsel, salvation, and eternal life.
“Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.””
John 4:39 ESV
But, there are many people walk away from faith because they can’t stand to face the truth about who they really are, and not because they don’t believe who God is, or that Jesus is His Son. After all, Satan knows who God is, and he knows who Jesus is too, he just doesn’t want to face who he is. A friend not only reveals the truth to us, but helps us to face it… that is who Jesus is. He is doing more than showing us a reflection of who we actually are; He desires us to become transformed into the reflection of who He is… better, righteous, and holy.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
True friends help us to become better men, women, and people of faith. This is what Jesus does for us, but what do we do for Him as His friends? What is it that Jesus looks for when He selects a friend?
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
John 15:14-17 ESV
Jesus wants His friends to be loyal, to know him, to know His Father, to bear fruit, to love, and to do the things that He commands of us… in other words, He wants us to do the things He counsels us in, and that will make us better, and more like Him. The real question then is not actually what kind of friend Jesus is to us, but whether we are willing to be His true friend in return.
One last thought for today….
Honest counsel might be the most common reason we tend to lose, or walk away from friends, but coming in a close second is a betrayal of trust. This is something that God and Jesus will never do… betray us… but can we say the same about others we call friends, or even ourselves? We will stop on this note today, and simply ask ourselves if we can claim absolute trust to be one of our own unyielding characteristics. Can we be absolutely honest with ourselves on this subject, and what does betrayal mean in the realm of spirituality?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling us your friends, and we also thank you for Jesus calling us His friends too. We seek out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we know that our salvation holds hands with our ability to claim true friendship with you, and Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who desires us as your children, servants, and now as friends. Praised be your name for every revelation you give us of our true selves, and for working with us day and night as we become better and more righteous by your transformative power. Merciful are you who, through Jesus, are pouring your grace out upon us in continuous flow. Your friendship is overshadowed only by your love, and that is realized to its fullness through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Wash us n His blood, forgive us our sins, and help us to be your friends eternally… forever, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes