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The Truest Friend
By Anna Kuta
News and Culture Editor at Crosswalk.com
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
Recently, one of my good friends did something that betrayed my trust. I’m not going to lie, her action and the fact that she knowingly chose to do it was pretty hurtful. I asked the Lord to help me show grace to her and be a good friend myself, and after a few weeks of a lot of prayers and struggles, I was able to reach a point of forgiving her. But because of the details of the whole situation, I don’t know at this point if our friendship can ever be quite the same, and that’s something that makes me really sad.
When it comes down to it, one of our strongest human desires is to have deep, lasting relationships with others. But we are sinful human beings, and even those closest to us will at some point do something that hurts us or lets us down.
There is one friend, though, who’s the best friend we could ever have – a friend who gave His life so we could be saved from our sin.
I’ll admit, the concept of Jesus as a friend used to seem pretty weird to me. But Jesus said to his disciples in John 15:14 that we are His friends if we do what He commands – and He will never leave or forsake His friends. Even if all your earthly friends desert you, Jesus will remain. He can be trusted 100 percent of the time, and He wants nothing more than for you to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. God created humans to enjoy fellowship with Him, and through Jesus we are able to do so.
Jesus is the perfect model of what friendship should be for all of us. Let us strive to follow His example, yet realize that while our friendships with others on this earth can add incredible joy to our lives, the only thing that can truly satisfy our hearts’ relational desires and ultimately fulfill us is knowing Jesus and following Him.
Intersecting Faith & Life
Ask the Lord to help you realize that He is the greatest friend you could ever have. Ask Him for the desire to seek Him more. Pray that you can strive to follow Jesus’ example of friendship in your relationships with others.
Further Reading
John 15:14-15
Proverbs 17:17
