Wednesday, June 15th – A Friend Of Jesus

For a friendship to survive both parties have got to put something into the friendship; there should be give and take on both sides. There can be no friendship if one is continually giving and the other continually taking; any friendship like that is heading for the rocks. Friends support each other through thick and thin, good times and bad.

On the night before Jesus died, He called His Disciples together, and said to them, “There is no greater love than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. And you are my friends, if you do what I command you to do.”

There have been quite a number of people who have sacrificed their lives for their friends. In the Japanese Prisoner of War Camps in the 2nd World War, a giant of a man faded away and died. The doctors discovered that, for months, he had been giving away most of his food to those who were in the Camp Hospital, so that they could stay alive. It had cost him his life.

In Jesus, however, it is God who is laying down His life, and doing it for those who are just about to betray Him. He knows they will betray Him, and yet He still calls them His friends and He makes it plain that this friendship is not just for them but also for those that will believe in Him and do His will i.e. you and I; He calls us friends too.

We cannot be His friend unless we respond to His offer of friendship, Peter had to discover this. Peter had heard Jesus say, “You are my friend”, but then Peter denied knowing Him. The friendship isn`t all one-sided, it`s not just us taking the salvation life He offers. We show that we are His friends by doing what He tells us to do. That commandment was “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you are to love one another”. We show that we are friends of Jesus by the quality of love and self-sacrifice that we show.

Jesus made Peter to know after the Resurrection that he has been forgiven by asking him to feed His lambs and sheep but Peter had to respond. Peter showed that he had accepted His forgiveness and His friendship, by doing what Jesus told him to do. This we ought to do and be obedient in walking with Him. He is our friend when we do His will.