They may curse me, but you will bless me. (Psalms 109:28)
The
Best Friend
A friend is one
of the greatest blessings on earth, yet
real friends are rare. Many will befriend you in times of
prosperity, but a friend who will stay with you when you
are sick, helpness and poor is very rare. Above all, there are
few friends who will care for your soul. But I want to
recommend a real friend to you. He is "a friend who sticks
closer than a brother" . He is ready to be
your friend in time and eternity. The friend I want you to
know is the Lord Jesus Christ. You will be a truly happy
person if he is your chief friend!
The Lord Jesus is a Friend of those in Need
Because we are
sinners, we are in the greatest possible
need. By nature we are all sick with a deadly diseases. We
are all dying through sin. But Christ came to deliver us
from this death. By nature we are all great debtors. We owe
to God a debt which can never pay. But Christ came to
pay our debt. By nature we were all shipwrecked and cast
away. We could never the safe harbour of eternal life.
But the Lord Jesus Christ came to save that which was
lost, and to bring us safely to heaven.
You see, there
are no possible way for us to be saved
except by Christ's coming into the world to save sinners
. He was under no obligation to do so,
but his own free love, mercy and pity brought him to
deliver us, This is true friendship! There has never been a
friend like Jesus Christ!
The
Lord Jesus is an Active Friend
A true friend
is known by his actions rather than by his
words. No one's actions ever demonstrated true friendship
more than Christ's Altought by nature he was God, for
our sakes he took a human nature and became man. For
us, he lived for thirty-tree years in this evil world,
despired and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. For us he submitted to the terrible
death on the cross. He died for us.
Jesus did not
have to do any of these things. But he
knew that nothing else could save us, and such was his
love that he was prepared to come and die for us. This is
friendship beyond our ability to understand. Who can find
someone willing to die for those who hate him? Yet this
is exactly what Jesus did. There has never been a friend
like him!
The
Lord Jesus is a Powerful Friend
Often our friends
would be willing to help us if only
they could. They can sympathise with us when we are in
trouble, but they have no power to deliver us from it. But
Christ is almighty. He is never in the position of wishing
he could help but not having the power to do so.
He is able to
forgive even the greatest sinners. What-
ever we may have spirit in a man. He is able to preserve to the
end all who believe in him. In this life he can give the peace, joy,
hope and inward comforts which no money can buy, and
after death a crown of glory which never fades. This is true
power! No one ever had a powerful friends like Jesus.
The
Lord Jesus is a Loving Friend
His love is called
"love that passes knowledge"
. He shows his love by his willingness to
receive sinners. He turns no one away, however great his
sins. He is ready to forgive and cleanse all who come to
him. He shows his love by the way in which he deal with
sinners after they have believed in him and become his
friends. He is always patient with them, always ready to
hear sorrows. He never allow them to be tempted beyond
their ability to endure. He accept their service, poor as it
is. He has caused it to be written in Bible that he takes
pleasure in his people
The love of the
Lord Jesus is not a response to
anything lovable in us, but flows from his pure, unselfish
compassion. There is no love on earth to compare with it.
The
Lord Jesus is a Wise Friend
Not all our friends
are wise. They can give bad and
harmful advice, even when they mean well. Some friends
hold us back from the Christian pathway, and entangle us
in the emptiness of the world. But friendship with of the
Lord Jesus always does us good, and never harm.
The Lord Jesus
never spoils his friends by giving them
what they want rather than what is good for them. He
gives them everything that really is good for them, but he
also requires them to suffer hardship and to bear their
cross. Even though they may not like it at the time, he
knows that it is for their good, and that they will recognise
this when they are brought to heaven. The Lord Jesus
never makes mistakes in dealing with his friends.
When we look
about us, we see how much harm people
often get from their friends. Friends often encourage one
another in worldliness and foolishness rather than in love
and good works. Often when they meet together it does
them more harm than good. But how different is the
friendship of the Lord Jesus, the Friends of sinners!
Consider how he treated his disciples, comforting,
rebuking and exhorting them with perfect wisdom.
Consider the perfect timing of his visit to Mary and
Martha at Bethany . Consider his wise and
gracious dealing with Peter on the shore of Galilee .
His company made his friends more holy. His gift
are always for our spiritual good. His kindness is always
exercised in wisdom. There was never such a wise friend as
Jesus Christ.
The
Lord Jesus is a Proven Friend
He has shown friendship
to all kind of people in all
sort of conditions throughout history. Some of his friends
have been kings and rich men, like David and Solomon;
other have been poor, like the shepherds at bethlehem
Some have been masters, like Abraham; other have been
slaves, like Christians in Nero's household. Some became
his friends in early childhood, like Samuel and Timothy;
others did not know him till they were quite old, like
Manasseh. Some have been outgoing like Peter, or full of
activity like Martha; others have been quite like Mary. The
Lord Jesus' friends have taken from every nation of
the world. And all of them have found his friendship good.
No other friend was ever really so fully tried and prove as
the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Lord Jesus is an Unfailing Friend
While everything
else on earth changes, the friendship
of the Lord Jesus never changes. Even husband some
time desert their wives, and even parents sometimes
abandon their children. But Christ has never abandoned
even one of his friends, or changed his feelings towards
them. He is "the same, yesterday, today and ever".
There is never any parting between him and his people.
When he has made his home in the heart of any sinner, he
never leaves it. He says, "I will never leave you nor
forsake you" . "A friends loves at all times.
And there is a friend who stick closer than a brother".