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A Faithful Friend
October 23, 2001
"I no longer call you servants. … Instead, I have called you friends . …" John 15:15 (NIV)
Karl Barth was one of the most famous theologians of the 20th century. Once, when on a tour of the United States, someone asked him to state the most profound theological truth he knew. The old man thought for a few moments, and then he said something I find to be truly amazing.
Rather than quote from Aquinas or Bonhoeffer, he instead quoted a child's song: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Why something so simple? It was because Barth knew that to be loved of God, to be God's friend, is something that truly can be called awesome. Everything else—even the profundities of theology—pales by comparison.
Jesus is relentless about forming relationships with us. Best of all, he doesn't let superficial things like race, wealth, ethnicity, gender, or personality type get in the way. He extends a hand of friendship to all human beings, gently offering to bear the particular burdens of each one. We just have to let him.
Once we turn away from self and begin to follow Jesus, we become his friend and enter into a lifelong relationship with him. This relationship is molded and shaped as he takes us on an amazing journey. And along the way, we become more fully the person God created us to be. Like a good friend, Jesus wants us to reach our full potential in life.
According to the Bible, when Jesus becomes our friend, he will be the best friend we've ever had. Jesus will be with us through good times and bad. He won't abandon us in our time of need or lead us down a primrose path to destruction. He proved his love by laying down his life for us.
This week, when life is almost more than you can bear, think about the friend you have in Jesus. Remember that he walks alongside you. There is no burden you carry around that Jesus cannot lift off your shoulders and nail to his cross.
— Matt Donnelly, for the ChristianityToday.com staff
P.S. To prepare yourself for building bridges to people of the Islamic faith, you may want to learn more about the Koran. Visit here for an explanation of the Koran.
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