A Friend
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the meaning of Jesus being our friend.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
A Friend
"Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." John, Chapter 15, Verse 15.
Sometimes we feel trapped in an endless cycle of trouble. We crave a friend to share our troubles.Sometimes with heavy hearts and weary feet we seek a friend whom we can absolutely trust. In fact and truth, the very friend we seek is within our grasp. It is through faith that we come to know and experience the friendship of Jesus.
We do not live very long on this earth before we find ourselves in that unenviable predicament where we don't know which way to turn. We long for someone to confide in, someone to share our concerns, sorrows, disappointments, as well as our joys and successes. We long for a compassionate and patient friend, someone who truly understands and loves us, someone who knows our frame, our fallibility. We crave someone who can give us hope and inspiration.
In our human relationships, we are often disappointed when our friends fall short of meeting our expectations or when we fail to meet theirs. We are often dismayed by our own and others' lack of true love. Why is it so difficult to love? The answer is fear. In our attempt to understand one another, we find that only a partial understanding of persons is actually achievable. We cover our true selves with layers of maladaptive behaviors, such as envy, pride, insincerity, insensitivity, procrastination, arrogance, selfishness, greed, hostility, self deception, and a host of other behaviors to numerous to mention. And once we think we have achieved complete understanding of someone, another layer of egregious attitudes may be uncovered. Again, fear is the culprit.
Essentially we are known by the quality of our characters rather than by our physical attributes. While it is true that we may be tall or short, fat or skinny, dark or fair, these physical traits are not helpful in our attempts to understand each other. They do not reveal how we can expect anyone or ourselves to behave in a given situation. We must depend more on the intangible qualities of character to inform us: am I dependable? Is he faithful? Can she be trusted? Is he courageous? Does she display patience, does he show love, do I practice mercy? These are some of the qualities that we evaluate when attempting to know and be known by another.
There is a person whom we can know completely. There is a friend who measures up to our highest ideals of what a friend should be. This friend reveals more and more of himself the longer we know him. We can tell him our gravest mistakes and know of a certainty that if we are truly sorry he will forgive us and show us mercy. We can tell Him our worst fears and know that he will obliterate them with love. We can share our fondest hopes and dreams and know that he will elevate them and make them more than what they were.
We can share our deepest sorrows and most disappointing disappointments and know that He will comfort us while whispering in our ears that nothing of true value is ever lost. We can take our worries and anxieties to him and exchange them for his assurance and peace. And when we stumble and fail to live up to our highest ideals, we can know that he will be patient with us while encouraging us to do better. We can even dare to be like Him and know that He will make us just
like He is if that is what we really desire. This friend is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of then living God.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of why Jesus is our friend. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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