The Art of Friendship
Only a few times in my life have experienced true friendship. I remember each of those times with great fondness. For one reason or another those friendships have not stood the test of time. It is probably my fault as I am a difficult person at times, but in the long run it doesn't really matter who is to blame for the breakdown of the friendship.
I had the most incredible experience last night. I woke up from a deep sleep thinking about how God is really my best friend and all I could do was smile. I knew at that moment He was there. I know He loves me unconditionally and I know that we would always be together. I knew it in my very being. All I could do was say "I love you Jesus". When you get to that point where Jesus is your best friend, the rest of the world disappears. The reality is, when all is said and done in your life there are only two people - you and Jesus.
We've all experienced the loss of a friend we treasured, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a pet. Some of us have experienced the loss of a spouse through divorce or death. We move on from jobs where we've made friends. We move from state to state. Some have moved from country to country. In this life only one thing outside of God is constant. That one thing is change. We can be assured that change is going to happen, with or without our permission!
As I was walking with Wagsley this morning God painted me a sunrise. It was stunning. I stood and admired it and said, "That is beautiful God, thank you." I started thinking about how we go through this life alone and everything changes. Even the sunrises are different and they change into noon, or rain or snow or just overcast. It is much like life. The constant changing of our seasons are reflected in creation. How incredible though that life changes but God does not. We may have family around us one day and be completely isolated the next. When we consider that God's design is perfect and that change is necessary, it somehow makes that change we are experiencing less traumatic.
It occurred to me the other day, in the Christian's life there really are only two walking side by side never parting ways. The Christian and his Lord Jesus. We put so much effort into relationships with people, and I am not saying that is bad, but those relationships will all end one day in one way or another. We should cherish our friends and family and love them as Christ loves us, but the best way to do that is to grow the one friendship that will outlast all the others. In that friendship you learn how to be a friend to others.
Imagine Jesus and you on a hill watching a sunrise he painted just for you, his best friend. You sit in close and and he points out different parts of the picture before you. "Watch this!" He waves his hand and streams of sunlight burst from behind the clouds painting the sky golden. It takes your breath away. Your best friend knows what you like. He knows what will captivate your heart and send your soul sailing into a peaceful sky.
Now Imagine Jesus pulls out a smart phone and you take an eternal selfie. What would it look like? Are you imagining a selfie with Jesus? The memories you make with Jesus will last an eternity because He is eternal, and because of this friendship so are you. This friend who is constant day in and day out will never leave your side in this life or in the next.
My handle in this blog is "A Friend of Jesus", because that is what I am. It is also what you are if you have accepted God's gift of salvation. People try to make this walk with God something more complicated than that, but when Adam and Eve were in the garden God was their friend. He walked in the garden with them. We are restored by Jesus' death, burial and resurrection to the pre-fall status of Adam and Eve. This is why those who really know Jesus understand that we don't practice religion, but we have a relationship, a friendship with the Creator of the Universe. It is a loving eternal never changing solid friendship.
My BFF is in fact Jesus. He makes me laugh and brings me peace. There is no greater friendship in all the world than the individual with his Lord. Cherish it every day. Walk in it and experience the wonder of it. It is in that place of wonder where we get glimpses of eternal bliss. Make it something that others will see and desire. Lift Jesus up in your life and it will draw others to him.
Genesis 7:8-9 "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
1 John 4:7-8 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
1 Thessalonians 4:17 "And so we will be with the Lord forever."
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