Best friends forever ∙

Best friends forever ∙

I no longer call you slaves because a master does not confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. – John 15:15

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

Friends was an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. During its ten seasons, it depicted the lives of six twentysomething friends: three men and three women, living in the heart of New York City.

Over the course of ten years, this somewhat typical bunch of buds worked through family trouble, past and future romances, difficulties, humor, sadness, and situations that demonstrated what it means to be a true friend. It addressed everyday human experiences: falling in love, breaking up, jobhunting, dealing with parents, marriage, and becoming parents. It was a classic sitcom and became one of the most popular TV shows of all time.

It had a tremendous impact on US and international culture. It is a conflictless “hangout sitcom” that revolves around the idea of the importance of good friends. According to a pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo, Friends is “one of those rare shows that marked a change in American culture.” It presents a lifestyle that revolves around friends creating and sustaining relationships and seeking help from each other. 

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you” (Elbert Hubbard)

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who cares” (Henri Nouwen).

“There is nothing better than a friend unless it is a friend with chocolate” (Anonymous).

Good friends are hard to find. Even more so in a fragmented, hectic, independent, somewhat isolated social media culture. Being “friended” or “unfriended” on social media is not the same thing as true friendship.

REFLECT & PRAY

“The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity” (Ulysses S. Grant).

Father I can hardly believe that You and Your Son are my Best Friends Forever!

INSIGHT

Each child of the King has been “friended” by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that friendship will last throughout all eternity.

John 15:15 I no longer call you slaves because a master does not confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

The Lord Jesus Christ has declared that His disciples are not mindless robots or coerced slaves. Instead, they are His unique and special friends. If we are His friends, then He is our friend! What an extraordinary idea. Friendship with the eternal Son of God.

You are my friends implies a stunning level of comfortable personal interaction with one who is also the eternal, omnipotent Creator of the universe. In the OT, only Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and, by implication Moses (Exodus 33:11) are called “friends of God.”

Here Jesus extends this privilege to all obedient believers (ESV).

It is hard to take this in and believe that it is even remotely possible to be close to a holy and righteous God and be best friends with Him. But such we are. And what a unique and marvelous friendship it is.

As a friend, the Lord Jesus Christ prioritized His time to be with His friends. He lived closely with His disciples for three years and proved to be not only their Lord and Savior but also the best friend they had ever had. In a fashion similar to the Friends TV series, they went through family trouble, all manner of difficulties, successes and failures, times of joy and pleasure, and extreme sadness and loss.

The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates and embodies what it means to be a true BFF (best friend forever).

Speaking to “doubting” Thomas, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

“Unlike the disciples, we have never physically walked with Jesus, but this does not exclude us from His friendship” (Stanley).

The eternal and unalterable reality is that each child of the King who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord becomes His friend.

Apart from these remarkable words of the Lord Jesus Christ, how can we be even more confident in His friendship?

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The reality of our best friend forever status with the Lord Jesus Christ is confirmed for all time because He laid down His life for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ shows us how to be friends, true friends. It is all about caring, giving, self-sacrifice, and following His example. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us to love one another as He has loved us. We should concern ourselves with what is best for others and be willing to put them first. The standard that He set for us is incredibly high and humanly impossible to achieve in our strength alone. For some of us, it may even sound ridiculous.

Philippians 2:5-8 

 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,

 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

How can we possibly do this?

The Father is at work. He is at work all the time. And He invites us to participate in what He is doing. When we do so, He enables us to do what He desires for us to do.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

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© Dr. H 2022