JESUS, OUR FRIEND

JESUS, OUR FRIEND

Col. 1:21b-22 You were his enemies separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.  NLT

       How many friends do you have now who once went out of their way to make your life miserable? Maybe they said things that were hurtful or damaging to you. Maybe they did things to you or against you that made your life miserable. Or, maybe there were people that you had preconceived notions about because of their race, social, or economic class that you shut out of your life without getting to know them who are now your friends. Can you identify some people in your life like that?

       If so, what happened to make them now your friends? How did you overcome your negative impressions or feelings about them to get to know them well enough to now call them your friends? Was it an easy process?

       Friendships happen in the heart. We open up ourselves and let others in. We listen with our hearts to what others are saying. We accept people for who they are and not for who we think they are. We reach out and strive to build a relationship built on trust. We learn not to listen to what we hear others say about them and instead learn to know them. The process takes time and investment of our hearts.

       While friendships can be developed without Christ in the mix, they are made much easier with His help, especially when it involves those whom we might call our enemies. Jesus makes the heart right with God so that we can relate to others in a godly way. He enables us to listen with our hearts instead of our heads. He melts down our defenses and strips down our self-righteousness. He gives us hearts of compassion that embrace all people.

      If you have people in your life whom you cannot call your friends, I challenge you today to draw near to Christ and let Him change your heart and mind attitudes towards them. Let Him work in you to fill your heart with His love for them. Let Him move you to pray for them. Let Him help you to have the heart of God for them. Who knows? You just might find an awesome new friend in your life!