Friends come, and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you as family. Proverbs 18: 24, MSG.
Dear Heavenly Parent, We thank You for being the best Friend we could ever hope for. Please teach us about true friendship we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
What is your opinion of a friend? I did not want a dictionary definition of the word, because in my opinion, a friend means different things to different people. For a few minutes let us take a look at Jesus as a Friend. In His closing remarks to His disciples Jesus referred to them as “friends.” This salutation was preceded by His command that we “Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I have let you in on everything I have heard from the Father” (John 15: 12-15, MSG). So we hear from Jesus Himself, that one of the most important features of a friendship is love! When one loves, one shares! Sharing information is a very important aspect of true friendship.
What was the reason He gave for calling them friends? Because He had shared with them everything that He had heard from the Father. He had kept back nothing. He wanted them to be well informed. They did not understand everything He told them; but He told them anyway! That brings to my mind, one of the declarations made by the prophet Amos to the people of Israel. Remember, God had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. He had called them His “special treasure” (Exodus 19: 5). He had tried in every way to win their love, but they kept breaking the covenant He had made with them. He is now warning them of perils to come. In order to emphasize the impending peril, He asks them a series of rhetorical questions. He is requiring only one answer for each question, the obvious answer is no. He does this for six consecutive verses! In doing this, God, through the prophet, is trying to get Israel’s attention, by providing them with information. Every question has something to do with the danger that lay ahead. It is as if He was saying, “If I did not love You, I would not be making you aware of the danger to come. You are My friends.
A friend will not see danger coming and not warn his or her friend(s) even if his or her friend(s) does not respond as he or she desires. A true friend will tell you the truth, in love, in order to help you; even if the truth is not what you want to hear. That is because, “a friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17: 17). Notice the first question He asks, “Do two people walk hand in hand unless they are going the same place” (Amos 3: 3)? They can only go in the same direction, if there is a previous agreement between the two. The KJV renders this first question: “Can two walk together except they be agreed” (emphasis provided)? And then, at the end of the sixth question, comes the affirmation: “The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing, without first telling his prophets the whole story” (7). That is how much the Father loves us. That is how much Jesus loves you and me; like a “true” Friend. Our “best” Friend. Therefore, He has told us everything that is necessary for our salvation!
Have a Happy Friendship Day!