FRIEND

Prayer: Lord, we thank You for our friends. May we be a good friend, as You, Jesus, have been our Best Friend. If our friend needs to hear about You, Jesus, please give us the opportunity to speak of You.

Scripture: And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” Gen.15:6 and he was called God’s friend. James 2:23 NIV

Three girls at the pool agreed to all go under the water at the same time. They held hands and bobbed as they counted, “One, Two,” and, as they reached “Three,” they all took a deep breath, bobbed higher than before as if they were going to plummet into the water and then… they ALL stopped. Each of them had no intention of going under, but they each went through the motions up until the time to take the plunge.

The funny thing was that each of them was so surprised that the other two did not go under. They had an agreement, a plan, a pact – yet none of them followed through. What kind of “friends” were they? Do you think their trust of one another fell a few notches at that moment? Can you think of a time when a “friend” gave you their word and broke it? Have you ever had an all-for-one and one-for-all pact with a group only to have them run for the hills when the going got tough? How did you feel?

Now these three girls had clear, concise expectations. On the count of three everyone’s hair was going to get wet. But what happens when there are not clear expectations? Have you ever been the victim of being called a bad friend because of unfair, unreasonable or even unvoiced expectations?

How comforting it is to know that Jesus is our “true-blue, all the way to the cross for you” friend. John 15:15 says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” He always keeps His Word.

What characteristics are important to you in a friendship? What kind of friend are you? Is there a trait you would like to improve in yourself as a friend? Has anyone ever “taken the plunge” with you into a tough situation? My prayer for you is that you have true friends and you will know that you can trust Christ to be your friend.

Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]