CLOSE FRIENDS

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

Matthew 26:36-38

King James Version

Everyone needs friends but we need to be very selective about who we choose as our best friend.  It only takes one person to bring us down.  Jesus could have taken all His disciples with Him but He only took three.  If Jesus needed friends, we need them.

I am very selective about my close friends.  To be my close friends, they have to love Jesus.  A person can be saved and not love Jesus just as a child can have parents but not love them.  The desire of every Christian should be to make Jesus happy.

How will we know if people love Jesus?  Peter Raymond Scholtes wrote a hymn that answers that question.  “And they'll know we are Christians by our love, By our Love,  Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.”  Do people know you are a Christian by your love?

Again, be very careful who you choose to be your close friends.  We are to love everyone unconditionally but if a person does not love Jesus, that person will never be a close friend of mine.  I am very happy to say that I have a lot of friends but my Pastor and my best friend, Judye, are my closest friends.  They have proved that they love Jesus not only by their words but also by their actions.  God must really love me to give me the privilege of having Pastor Davis as my Pastor.

However, my dearest friend is Jesus.  He not only loves me unconditionally, He died for my sins.  We will never have a greater friend than Jesus. Joseph M. Scriven wrote one of my favorite hymns “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. 

“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.”

If you are hurting today, tell Jesus.  He will carry you through all the dark valleys in your life.  O how I love Jesus!  He is the Joy of my heart and the reason I get out of bed in the morning.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!

Joanne Lowe

May 17, 2019