YOUR FRIEND THE SAVIOR
"A true friend is someone who believes in you, even
when you have ceased to believe in yourself."
-- W. A. Ward
Think of all the friends you have had in your life.
I'm sure you can fondly recall good times of years gone by with
friends that are now separated from you. Their whereabouts may
be presently unknown to you. How many truly good friends do you
have now?
Noted psychotherapist, Dr. M. Scott Peck, observed,
"People are terribly lonely; they're looking for something to be
at the center of their lives." Who can you depend on to talk
about anything when you really need someone to listen? How many
true friends do you have that will understand, accept and care
for you when you need a shoulder to lean on? Who do you have in
your life that will come to your aid in your time of need? It's
still true: "A friend in need is a friend indeed." C.S. Lewis
said, "Sacrifice almost anything to live near your friends."
Here is one of the saddest verses in the Bible: "No
one is concerned for me...no one cares for my soul" (Psalm
142:4). David knew long ago what we have all keenly felt. Our
world seems hard, cold and uncaring. Cities are filled with
strangers. People go through life surrounded by people but never
really getting close to anyone. It's estimated that 70% of
marriages have a dysfunctional lack of intimacy. Churches are
often filled with familiar strangers.
No man is an island. God said, "It is not good for
man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). We are made to be relational
beings. We all need a true friend.
MY BEST FRIEND
My best friend has died. Let me tell you about him.
Even though he has left this earthly life, he still lives within
my heart. He is the best friend a person could ever have. Over
the past several years, I have come to love him as no other.
I can share with him all my secrets, hopes, joys,
fears, disappointments and problems. He knows all about my dark
corners and hidden faults, yet he still loves me dearly. He
accepts me as I am, while helping me to become better. He knows
what it is like to be tempted, to be misunderstood and
mistreated. He always has the right words to help my problems. I
never tire of reading the words He has written to me. He is
always there to listen to me and to comfort me. He is so
forgiving whenever I wrong him. He encourages me to be my best.
He hasn't ever given up on me, even when I felt like giving up
on myself. The beauty of his character exceeds all others. I
love him because he first loved me. He loved me enough to die
for me that I might live. He not only lives within my heart --
HE LIVES! He has been raised from the dead. Sound strange? His
name is Jesus! My best friend has changed my life. My friend I
recommend to you. He wants to be your friend too.
All earthly friendships with imperfect people can
often be painful failures. After observing many people,
psychologist Dr. Lawrence Crabb writes in Inside Out, "All my
relationships in some measure disappoint me, just as I
disappoint everyone who has had a relationship with me. Yet we
constantly put pressure on other people to never disappoint us
-- to always understand our struggles, to always respect our
efforts, to always support us, to always come through....Deep in
our souls, down at the core, we desperately long for this
understanding from others. Not having it is painful. Our insides
scream with the pain of loneliness and rejection and failure."
JESUS, A FRIEND OF SINNNERS
Only Jesus gives the relationship we need. "We can
be deeply involved with someone who loves us, forgives us and
truly accepts us. Our relationship with the Christ is the only
one that can fully satisfy us because He will never disappoint
us. He always understands (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16). He 'will
never leave, nor ever forsake you' (Hebrews 13:5)... He knows us
perfectly. He is unchanging. His resources are unlimited. We can
tell Him everything without fear of rejection. Jesus is the
ultimate friend: loving, loyal, and constant." (John M. Trigg,
Christianity Magazine, March 1990. Thanks goes to John for ideas
used in this tract).
Jesus was a "people-person" when He walked among us.
He was "the friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34).
He befriended the alienated, morally down and out people of His
day. Will Rogers said, "I never met a person I didn't like," but
Jesus' life says, "I never met a sinner I didn't want to
befriend." Jesus loved the sinner but hated the sin. He treated
people he came in contact with as individuals of great worth.
For example, in John 4, He struck up a conversation with an
immoral, outcast Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. The prejudiced
Jews of the day "had no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9).
Jesus reached out to this woman by asking for a drink of water.
It was a radical act that hurdled racial, religious, social and
cultural barriers of His time. He made a difference in her life.
Read for yourself in John 4:1-42 the life-changing story of how
this morally suspect woman found a friend in Jesus.
JESUS MEETS A MAN NEEDING A FRIEND
Luke 19 records Jesus befriending an outcast man of
Jericho. About 10 days before His death, Jesus passed through
Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. Little time remained...surely
not enough to stop and make new acquaintances.
Passing through the city's crowded street, a short,
little man forgets his age and climbs a sycamore tree to get a
glimpse of the famous Jesus. Zaccheus was "a chief tax-gatherer,
and he was rich" (19:2). He was he head of the local IRS for the
Romans. Zaccheus was probably the most hated man in Jericho. The
Jews shunned tax-gatherers, despised as turncoats who sold out
to the Roman government. Men under Zaccheus lined their pockets
by getting whatever money they could above what the Romans
required in taxes. They notoriously extorted money from their
countrymen. The popular thing before the crowd would be to
ignore such a loathed crook. But Jesus saw someone who needed a
friend. "And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw
him, and said to him, 'Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for
today I must stay at your house.' So he made haste and came
down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all
complained, saying, 'He has gone to be a guest with a man who is
a sinner'" (Luke 19:5-7). Zaccheus sought out Jesus. Jesus
didn't care what the critics thought. He only cared about a lost
sinner who needed someone to put their arm around them and care
about them. With Jesus, everyone is someone special. "A true
friend is someone who comes in when the rest of the world goes
out."
You may think you've gone too far or have done too
much wrong. Like a true friend, Jesus didn't give up on
Zaccheus. He hasn't given up on you yet. "The Son of Man has
come to seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He
specializes in lost causes and hopeless cases. He wants to
befriend us, not according to our merit or goodness, but
according to His grace and our need for a right relationship
with God. Doesn't that sound like Someone you need to get to
know?
SACRIFICAL FRIENDSHIP
Jesus is our true friend by the price He personally
paid to save us. "For when we were still without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly....God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us...For if we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Romans 5:6,8,10).
Jesus did not die for the weak or innocent who made just a few
harmless mistakes. He showed the greatest love ever known by
dying for us as the moral, rebellious enemies of God. Sin
separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). The penalty of sin's
rebellion against God's rule is spiritual death (Romans 6:23).
Jesus paid the price on the cross owed by those alienated and
hostile to God. We caused His pain. Jesus on the cross paying
for our need is our friend indeed! What a great gulf God did
span at Calvary! "A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17).
A friend always acts with our best interest at
heart. He loved us the most when we deserved it the least but
needed it the most. He loved us even when we were unlovable
rebels lost in sin. "Reconciliation" is the restitution of a
broken relationship. Former enemies can become friends. Enmity
can be changed to friendship. "Greater love has no man than
this, that He lay down His life for His friends" (John 15:13).
Who couldn't love such a friend as that?
Jesus is "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), the Good
Shepherd (John 10:11), our High Priest, (Hebrews 4:15),
Intercessor (Romans 8:34), Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), Advocate (1
John 2:2), Elder Brother (Romans 8:29), Guardian of our souls (1
Peter 2:25) and "Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6)
The test of friendship's response is obedience to
the risen Christ. "You are my friends if you do what I command
you" (John 15:14). Jesus gave His all so you could become His
friend. You cannot do too much for Him. Hear the words of the
song, "I'll Be A Friend To Jesus": "They tried my Lord and
master, with no one to defend\ Within the halls of Pilate, He
stood without a friend\...Though all the world forsake Him, I'll
love Him to the end\ And while on earth I'm living, my Lord
shall have a friend." If we really care, we'll do exactly what
He says. "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments" (John
14:15).
Some people look at religion as a bunch of harsh
rules and rituals. Yet, obedience to His will is but a means to
an end. The essence of religion is a right personal relationship
with the Lord. Abraham, who is the model of obedient faith for
us to follow (Romans 4:12), was paid the highest compliment when
called "the friend of God" (James 2:23). Obedience is a means to
the end of maintaining and improving the closeness of this
relationship. Someone has said, "A real friend is one who helps
us to think our best thoughts, to do our noblest deeds, and to
be our finest selves."
WILL YOU BECOME JESUS FRIEND?
In this world, you face a great adversaries, but
greater is your ally in Jesus. Will you make Him your friend?
You never have to be lonely or without a true friend again. Read
the gospel record of how Jesus can become and remain your best
friend. As a faithful Christian, you can always turn to Jesus
for advice in times of decision, comfort in times of sorrow and
strength in times of weakness. No one knows us better or loves
us more.
When you come to the end of life, you can say as
Paul did: "to depart and be with the Lord...is very much better"
(Philippians 1:23). What a joy to see this true friend face to
face! Will Jesus be your friend to welcome you home?
Let us hear from you! We want to introduce our best
friend to you. The good news is that you can find a true friend
in Jesus. Write us at WFrankWalton@juno.com.
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