Once
again I am reminded how precious my friendship with Jesus is. As we begin the Lenten Season, we pause to
reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for every one of us. He left His Heavenly status and lowered
Himself to become one of us. And as a
man, He established Himself among us, not only as our Savior and King but as
our friend as well.
The Gospel, the first four books of the Bible’s New
Testament, reveals incident after incident of Jesus befriending people as He
lived on this earth. Some of His first
friends became his 12 disciples. Jesus,
compassionate and gentle, reached out to common, ordinary people. From Matthew 11:19, Jesus remarks that He was
accused of being a friend to tax collectors and sinners: “The Son of Man came
eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend
of tax collectors and sinners!’ But
wisdom is justified by her children.”
Another example of friendship comes to mind when the
names of Lazarus, Mary and Martha surface. These three individuals had welcomed
Jesus into their home. Not only had they
served Him but they had also listened to His teachings. The closeness they felt for Jesus was
reciprocated by His love for them. Jesus
referred to Lazarus as his friend when He said, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but
I go that I may wake him up.” (John 11:11)
And most of us know the rest of that story as Jesus did indeed wake him
up…wake him from the dead!
Then, on the night when Jesus was betrayed, He
referred to His disciples as friends. (John 15:15) He no longer thought of them
as servants but as true friends. As followers and servants of Jesus, we, too,
are His friends.
Jesus became my friend when I was a child, although at
the time I wasn’t fully aware of what it meant to have Jesus as my friend. Being raised in a Christian home aided in
developing that friendship, but it wasn’t until I was in junior high that Jesus
became my First Friend.
Being raised in the Lutheran denomination, it was
customary for seventh and eighth graders to attend Confirmation classes. During these classes we studied the Bible’s
Old and New Testaments thoroughly as well as Martin Luther’s Small Catechism
. It was during these two years that I developed a deeper understanding of
the Word and the walk of a Christian disciple.
Consequently, drawing closer to Christian principles separated me from
the “popular” group at school. For a
time I was without any close friends, except one --- Jesus!
Jesus took me under His wing so to speak. And when I made my public confession of faith
by accepting Jesus as my personal Savior when I was 13, my life changed. In high school, Jesus provided me with an entirely new set
of friends, friends that were trustworthy, faithful, and fun-loving. My high school years were some of the best of
my life. And Jesus had arranged it all. What a loving, caring friend!!
Today, as I reflect on my friendships through the years,
I see Jesus’ hand in all of them. He has
placed friend after friend in each of my life experiences…each friendship at
the perfect time. I consider all
my friends, near and far, precious gifts from Jesus, my First Friend. Jesus knows about friendship, and He wants to
be our friend….our First Friend. You
couldn’t ask for a better one, especially a friend who gave His own life to
save all of His friends.
Instead of a Bible
reference, I want to share the lyrics of my favorite hymn, “What a Friend We
Have in Jesus”.
What a
Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a
privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh
what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All
because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
Have
we trials and temptations? Is there
trouble anywhere?
We
should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we
find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus
knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we
weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious
Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy
friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His
arms He’ll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.
