Friendship with the Lord

By: Lauren Thomas 

Friendship with Jesus. What do you think when you read that? Maybe you’ve never thought of Jesus in those terms. Maybe you grew up in a church that highlighted this. Or maybe you grew up in a church that highlighted the fear of the Lord over friendship with the Lord. But they can both be present, and there is biblical support for thinking of Jesus in terms of friendship. 

Here are just a handful of verses that speak to the friendship Jesus offers us:

 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20 ESV

 

He wants to commune with you – to be with you and speak with you. And the closer you want to be, the more you want to invest, the deeper you want to go? He’ll gladly go there with you. 

 

for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

 

“The Lord is my helper;

    I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Hebrews 13:5b-6

 

He will never leave you. He will always be there for you, any time day or night. He’ll be ready to help when you ask for it.

 

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

3 You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

Psalm 139:2-4 ESV

 

He knows you intimately. He could finish your sentences. He knows what you are thinking. He knows where you go and what you do and how you spend your time, as any close friend does!

 

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.

John 15:15 ESV

 

He calls his followers friends.

 

And he offers this friendship willingly to all who would have it. In his time on Earth, Jesus was known as a friend of sinners. And even now, he offers sinners an opportunity to become followers and friends. 

 

If you aren’t availing yourself of friendship with Jesus, why ever not? Let him be your greatest friend. Let him fill up your loneliness. Let him heal all the hurts that human friendships have inflicted on you. Let him call you friend. 

 

Reflection: 

Search for the words of the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and reflect on these words. What comes to mind or heart when you think of friendship with the Lord? Are you engaged in friendship with Jesus?