03/25/2023
Yesterday we spoke of being the friend of Jesus in the context of placing him before us in all things, but today we look at what kind of friend the groom has chosen for His best man. What kind of friend should we truly be?
“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.”
John 3:29 KJV
When we choose a best man we consider all of our friends and finally decide on who has been the truest friend and closest confidant; who has stood beside us at all times, but most of all... who could always be trusted. That person is our dearest friend because their character is most like ours. What makes us think that Jesus is any different?
As I read my Oswald Chambers devotional this morning, he considered this selfsame relationship with Jesus and he described it like this:
"In order to maintain this friendship and loyalty to the bridegroom, we have to be more careful of our moral and vital relationship to Him than of any other thing, even obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that." - Oswald Chambers
Have you ever been to a party where one of the host's friends acted as though he were the host; the center of attention? It happens all the time, but the true friend of the host is the one who makes certain that the glasses stay full, the table stocked, the host has time to speak with everyone there, and after it is all over and the guests have departed, he is the one who remains behind to clean up and joyfully talk about all that had transpired during the party.
We should be that way with Jesus. Delivering the gospel shouldn't make us the host, but rather the friend who serves the host's guests. We see this in church circles just as we do in the example of the party. We see the pastor who steps between the object of the gospel he preaches and the congregation so as to take the light, or those in service within the church who want everyone to know all they do, rather than knowing Jesus, for whom they should be doing these things. The examples are many, and so is the danger... we cease to become a friend of the groom and instead become His competitor for the attention of the guests.
I read an article one time that dealt with the fact that true servants should be forgetful of themselves; in other words, true servants care more for the interests of those they serve than their own. Are you a true servant and true friend of Jesus?
Our churches and church life are much like the world around us in that they are full of imperfect people. It is that way because the church is a halfway house for those seeking freedom from the addiction of sin, yet when certain of these sinners begin to pretend to be like the host, or begin feeling like the owners of the house... then they are no longer serving Jesus in healing, but returning fully to the role of patient. Let's not kid ourselves, we are all patients and will be for life, but as we approach our own healing, it is appropriate to reach back and lend a hand to those following behind us... not to show our piety, but to say... I am like you more than you think; let's walk this road together.
Friends of the Groom are forever by His side and helping to promote Him and His interests. As we approach our faith and the things of faith, are we doing so with the right heart? Is our character growing more like Christ's with each passing day? Are we attending to our relationship with Jesus in such a way as to not overshadow Him and redirect praise? Are we behaving and reaching the point in our hearts and souls in which Jesus might select us as not only a guest at His wedding with the church, but as a groomsman, or even a best man?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and I pray that He always sees me as more than a face in the crowd, but as His friend. Help me Father to place your interests, and of those of your Son, before my own; not only out of obedience, but out of love for you. Lord I praise your name and humble myself in your service. In as much as I wrestle with sin every day, I know that I will stumble, but Father take my hand and lift me up as I reach for you. If my shadow should ever touch you brush me aside, and instruct me Lord, because as I heard your Son say in the Garden of Gethsemane... "yet thy will, not mine be done." Let my friendship towards you be one that gives you all the glory, and never usurps your presence as the Focus of all attention, the Host of life, my King, Creator, Healer, and the God of all creation… it is in this way I long to hear you call me your friend, the friend of Jesus, and a best friend forever (BFF) of your greater family in Heaven.
Rich Forbes