Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 / 1 John 4:7-10 / John 15:9-17
There are many ways to describe what life is like, and what life is about.
It can be said that life is like boarding a train and going on a long long journey.
When we go on board a train, there are already people on it.
As the train moves along, we will gradually strike up conversations, and make friends with people.
There are some whom we will easily make friends with because of similarity in personality, and common interests.
And then there are some who will just be acquaintances, and we won't know much about them, and they also will not know much about us.
And then there might be some whom we will keep a distance from, for one reason or another.
As the train travels from station to station, some people will come on board, while some will alight the train.
So, there are some people that we will meet, and then there will be some friends that we will miss, and we wonder if we will ever meet them again.
And then there will be some who will remain on the train with us along the journey.
They may become our good friends, and some may also become our best friends.
So, life is like a train journey where we will meet people. And in that journey, we don't merely look at the passing scenery in solitude.
Rather, we develop relationships, and some of these relationships will last throughout the journey.
And when these relationships are enriching, then the journey of life will truly be beautiful and wonderful.
In the gospel, Jesus tells us that He calls us friends, because He has made known to us everything He has learned from His Father.
In the Bible, the word “friend” is more than an interpersonal relationship.
In the Bible the word “friend” also expresses a deep personal relationship between God and man.
God refers to Abraham as “my friend” (Isaiah 41: 8). And the Lord speaks to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:11).
When Jesus calls us friends, He means to say that He knows us through and through.
He was with us when we came into this world, and He will be with us right till the day when we leave this world.
Yes, Jesus is with us all throughout the journey of life. He chose us to be His friends, and He wants to be our good friend, to be our best friend.
But, as in any friendship and relationship, the test will come.
Jesus wants to be our friend, a friend who would be willing to make the sacrifice and to lay down His life for us.
Jesus showed what a friend He is to us, by dying on the Cross in order to save us.
Truly, a man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
Yes, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs He bears. And what a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer.
Let us be a friend to Jesus by being with Him in prayer, daily and faithfully.
When we have a friend in Jesus, He will also bless all our friendships.
Then the journey of life, and the journey in life, will be beautiful and wonderful.