In our modern times and world that runs on Wi-Fi, we’ve never been more ‘connected’.
Yet so many are walking through life feeling profoundly alone and depressed.
A friend in Jesus is not just for title and quotes, it’s what the ‘Son of God’ promises us will bring peace, endurance and joy in our lives.
Why a Friend in Jesus is Essential
When we think of Jesus, we often think of a teacher, a Savior, the Son of God, and He is all of those glorious things for sure.
But sometimes, we miss the most relatable title and a relationship of which He speaks of to His disciples (thus us) in John 15:15…
“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.”
‘A friend’ is what He promises us that He is.
Also this friendship holds a promise stronger than iron and steel in spirit and will that Jesus invites us as a reward of this fellowship and trust when in Matthew 11:28 Jesus tells us…
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
This ‘rest’ that Jesus promises is not only a comfort, it’s an endurance, it’s a protection, it’s a fellowship with the King of kings, lords of lords, Jesus Christ.
A friend in Jesus is our need for we live in a world where relations are measured, they are subjective, give and take kind.
A few of our friends on earth that are trusted, do not always assure the faith and companionship forever.
In our lives there is hurt, dismay, stress, all features of our modern times.
Struggles and pressures seem like a second living of this one life. There is rejection, failure, and loneliness.
Jesus knows it all, He knew it then when He said the words of (Matthew 11:28) as He lived on earth, and He had meant it for us 2000 years before from today and knew then that this would be a part of the modern living.
Thus the promise of concern and comfort from Matthew 11:28.
Having a friend in Jesus would not mean that we shun worldly friends and human community, we absolutely need them all. They were designed to be a part of our lives as a will of God and His plans for our life.
Along with our earthly friends, when we have accepted Christ as a friend, we have accepted His fellowship and companionship along with our earthly relations.
With this relation of friendship with Jesus, the friend in Jesus now is holding us tight, lest we get lost in the chaos of hurts and wrongdoings.
This friend shields you in His protection, not just of the evil one but a protection that also guides to take a path of success and righteousness.
If our earthly friend has our goodness and welfare at heart in all our walks of life, how much more will He Jesus have a concern for our day to day living, if we have chosen a friend in Jesus.
Jesus concern as a friend would be to anchor us in our moments of struggles, failures and rejection. His constant presence as a friend means we are never alone, and as a true friend He is without our knowledge and know how, taking the hit for all our wrongdoings, just as He had chosen to take our sins on Himself when He died on the Cross for us.
Now sacrificing one’s own life for the other need no further testing whether it was a good act of a friend.
Love, the language and trait of any friendship is now flowing and overflowing, surely if measured and compared, would weigh much heavier and profound over the divine Jesus then with the human in us in response.
Jesus loves us more.
The Friendship That Transforms Us
There are gains always in the presence of Christ and having a friend in Jesus will make our lives rich in values, graces, and bringing our life to taste the spiritual nectar of the “Son of God” all mind, body, and soul.
Yes you are privileged and highly blessed to be in friendship with Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, one of the persons in the “Holy Trinity”, just the thought itself brings immeasurable blessings to this inconsequential life of ours.
The phrase “you are of what company you keep” means that the people you associate with are a reflection of your character, and they can influence your behavior and attitudes.
Choosing a friend in Jesus is going to make me like Him.
He as a friend will transform my thoughts, deeds and actions, that’s what happens to us when we are influenced by our earthly friends, so why wouldn’t the same happen to us now, when our friend is Jesus.
The strength, the endurance, the wisdom, and all the other virtues is now transferred to me from my friend in Jesus.
When you are friends with someone, you are drawn towards people and love those whom your friend loves first.
Jesus heart beats for the world, for the broken, the lonely, the outcast, the rejected and the broken.
Now our friend in Jesus influences our thoughts too, as we get touched and concerned also for all those mentioned above for whom Jesus has cared.
As we grow closer to Him, our circle of compassion inevitably widens.
We are less judgmental and are now filled more with empathy and concern. We now see all those less privileged, downtrodden and suffering persons as co- beings and an extension of the entire human race, as valuable to creation as are you and I.
This surely has had our heart renewed to be a good human being first then a Christian by faith, or a person of any other faith.
Being Christian is being like Christ that is the transformation in us brought by a friend in Jesus.
The ‘Who am I” question now seemed to being answered.
Our daily life is no longer just about getting through the to – do list, it has a purpose.
We aren’t now just born and living in an era, we are part of the sustenance as we aid and transform other lives as we spread and live the words of Christ through our lives.
Our conversations and presence is bringing opportunities and encouragement to other lives. We are now not mere consumers but co-workers and an extended hands of goodness, kindness and value of our friend in Jesus and His redemptive story.
Our transformation is a miracle and the cause of this miracle is Jesus Christ.
Saying Thank you: Why Friendship is Our Truest Response to the Cross
When Jesus, on the night of His betrayal, said to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants… but friends” (John 15:15), He was unveiling to them His purpose of redemptive work in all humility and His pure unconditional love.
Jesus had accepted all His disciples as friends and in the sacrifice of Himself on the Cross, a friend in Jesus had now filled the void, and removed the separation that existed between man and God.
Love for us each was the lone factor and now was born a renewed relationship that once existed, before man chose disobedience above God.
We are now redeemed from sin and death and prepared for communion with God.
And now what should be our response? How can we repay this sacrifice of our dear friend in Jesus?
Can we repay or just say thanks?
We cannot… is the answer. We are not worthy.
How does the human soul full of sins and flawed, offer adequate thanks for such a divine and unmerited act.
We are saved by grace, through faith, and this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).
To believe we could ‘repay’ the friend in Jesus for His sacrifice through our good works observing the Christian doctrines is to misunderstand both the depth of our debt and the nature of His grace.
We have not earned it, it’s only the grace and mercy of Christ that gifts us it all.
Though we cannot repay it all, we can surely offer our lives as a posture of gratitude, living this friendship with our Redeemer.
Now this should be our response and not a requirement as if paying back for all His sacrifice.
Our friendship with Jesus and living His teachings and doing His will is breathing ‘thank you’ to Him every day as we live our lives here and will continue in eternity.
Like the lord Jesus did it all for us out of ‘love’, so to our spending time with a friend in Jesus when praying, reading the Bible, or doing acts of goodness should be not out of obligation, but out of genuine longing for Jesus presence and communion with us each in our lives.
So now when we pray before Him at the altar, we don’t to do it as a religious virtue, we do it because we want to converse with a friend in Jesus.
We read the Scriptures not because it’s a Holy Book, but to understand the heart, mind, and will of a dear friend.
And if we are to obey His command and will, they aren’t some burdensome law, but as the wise and loving guidance of someone we trust wholly and completely and of a true friend.
Consequences: The Friendship That Reaps Fruits for Us and All
All actions have a consequence, the friendship with Christ comes with an effect and response.
The friend in Jesus has made our lives, a living Eucharist.
The love we receive from the Divine friend overflows into love for our neighbors (John 13:34-35)
The forgiveness that we have been received empowers and transforms us, and now we too need to forgive others.
The love and peace that we enjoy in His presence we extend to a fractured, broken world.
So a kind word to a stranger becomes a ‘thank you’
Integrity in business becomes a ‘thank you’
Bearing a suffering with resilience and hope becomes a ‘thank you’
A thank you to our Redemptor in Christ
Also our work, our relationships, our struggles, our resilience, and our joys all become the stage where the presence of Jesus is played out.
Through us and our lives others experience their own Redeemer in Christ.
Jesus invites us to receive His redemption not as a one- time gift but as an ongoing, everlasting friendship to be lived.
Our friendship with Jesus is the only gratitude adequate for the Cross. It is the eternal ‘thank you’.
A friend in Jesus is not to be cherished only in times of troubles and difficulties, it is a relationship for life and eternity.
As we sing the song below in our hearts each day acknowledging each words as a promise from a true friend in Jesus …
