Friendship is a vital ingredient in life and we all need friends. The importance of friendship is often spoken about (there was even a TV programme called ‘Friends’ which traced the lives of a group of friends), but in today’s society, we can be very lonely. Life can be very busy and we can go long periods without necessarily meeting anybody who feels like a friend. Dave spoke tonight from John 15:9-16, reminding us that God supplies the friendship we need and wants us to be people who love others and demonstrate friendship to them in the same way that He demonstrates it to us.
God demonstrates His love for us by laying down His life for us. He is the ultimate friend, never letting us down, never forsaking us. With good friends, we feel we can be honest and real; we can let our guard down and relax. God wants us to have that same relationship with Him, so that we bring all our fears, questions, problems, joys and sorrows to Him in prayer. We need never fear that He will get fed up with us or tell us to shut up; He is always willing to listen and be a friend forever.
No friend on earth is perfect; it can be very painful when friends let us down or disappoint us. Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother and will be the ultimate friend to us through thick and thin.
