A Best Friend Forever

Do you have a best friend? I do. She’s wonderful, and what’s awesome is she lives one door down from me! I’ve known her my whole life, but that doesn’t mean everything was always perfect. We’ve had many ups and downs, but we haven’t left each other’s sides. And for a long time, it was just me and her. She was the only best friend I had, and she is still my best friend But now, I have another best friend. His name is Jesus. When He was with His disciples, Jesus said, “I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, He calls us friends! Isn’t that amazing? Jesus, the almighty God of the whole universe and King of everything, wants us to be His friends! A friend can be defined as someone you share a bond of mutual affection with. “Mutual” isn’t a word that would describe a one-way relationship. In my opinion, Jesus has shown His side of mutual affection in our friendship in countless ways. The climax of Jesus’ affection was when He died a terribly gruesome death (a death we all deserved to die), and He rose from the dead to make a way for us to be in close relationship with God forever. It was all worth it to Him because He wants to be best friends with us. How do we live in friendship with Jesus and show our affection toward Him? Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus—believing in His life, death, and resurrection—one way to express our love back to God is by talking with Him. It might feel weird at first, but try venting to Him. Literally tell Him everything going on with you. Yes, He already knows, but tell Him anyway. Admitting your struggles to God is often the first step toward relying on His strength and entering His rEsther He is a great listener. Talk to Him at any time, even if it’s not serious. (I’ve literally told Him about a really funny joke I heard.) Jesus wants the true you. He wants to be your best friend. And even though our friendship with Jesus is still different from our friendships with other people, and it’s hard that we don’t get to see Jesus in person, we can look forward to when Jesus will return and we’ll get to be with Him (in the flesh) forever! • Lily Davito • How is being friends with Jesus similar to being friends with a neighbor? How is it different? • How has Jesus shown the kind of relationship He wants to have with us? Though you have not seen him [Jesus], you love him 1 Peter 1:8a (CSB)