Grown-ups, compared to children, often find it difficult to make new friends.

Adults develop issues with trust, for instance, which slows down or stops altogether the process of befriending another adult. We also get too busy to spend enough quality time to develop an acquaintance into a full-blown friendship. There are a host of reasons why adults can struggle with new friendships.

But with Jesus, all of these potential hazards are gone.

Jesus always has time for us, at exactly the time we seek him.

Jesus is the most trustworthy human being who ever lived. Trust is a non-issue!

And Jesus has already befriended us. So what are we waiting for?

During a great crisis, nothing could matter more than friendship. And when we’ve found a friendship that will never fail us, we can face anything.

Many people think that Jesus calls us into a relationship of servitude rather than friendship. The popular notion is that someone becomes a Christian by devoting their life to obeying Jesus. This false understanding leads people to assume that Christians measure themselves based on the quality and quantity of their service, and that they are in pursuit of some base standard of righteousness which will qualify them for eternal life. In other words, many people think that friendship with Jesus is something we have to work toward.

People who regard Jesus this way would be right to dismiss Him as just another religious guru who parlayed wisdom and intelligence into a following. But they’re looking at the wrong Jesus!

As Jesus Himself reminds us, He does not call us servants, but friends.

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

In laying down his life for us, Jesus has redeemed us. That’s how we became His friends - we’ve been the object of His love and sacrifice. We are the recipients of His righteousness; we don’t generate righteousness by obeying. We can’t. And we don’t need to, because…

Jesus calls you “friend.”

Let someone else know about Jesus, their best friend. If you don’t know how, start by sending them this email.

As for you, imagine your best friend inviting you to go somewhere with them. They say something like, “You know how well I know you and how much I love you, right? Well trust me when I tell you that you are going to absolutely love this thing. Come see!!!” You’d do it.

Well Jesus - our best friend - invites us to join Him in loving service. Your eternal life has been secured the moment Jesus picked you as His friend. So we don’t serve him in exchange for a blessing. We serve with Him as friends, enjoying His company, rejoicing in His presence, and inspired by His concern for the world around us.

What a friend!

Closing Prayer:

Lord of life,

Help us to maintain the vital balance

Between material necessities

And spiritual blessings

That releases us by faith

To generosity in stewardship

And trust in love. Amen

Written by E. Lee Phillips