What A Friend We Have in Jesus
by Rachel Bunn
“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” - C.S. Lewis
If you have ever had a beautiful friendship, this quote will make you smile. You will think of someone and remember their kindness, loyalty, and familiarity. Our friends make us laugh, give us advice, and tend to us in our grief. I have such friends. Each time I think of the wondrous miracle of friendship, I am encouraged. I am thankful to have had incredible friendships throughout my life and I look forward to the possibility of new and deepening friendships in the future.
And yet.
And yet, I have been in seasons where I wrestle with seeing Jesus as my friend. Maybe you too? Maybe you read the Bible and see a glorious, powerful, holy God, but you feel He is far off. Maybe you read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s ministry on Earth and you struggle to apply the descriptions of His compassion and mercy to yourself today. Maybe you are exhilarated by the good news of the Gospel and yet you grapple with the truth that Jesus not only saves you from sin but wants to be with you.
You too? Me too, friend.
“Oh what peace we often forfeit…” : God’s Nearness
When I doubt that God is near, I remember Genesis. And Exodus. And really all the other books of the Bible, but let’s start with the beginning. The Bible tells us that we were created for friendship with God. In Genesis 1-2 alone, we see these indications of intimate relationships:
God is triune - God Himself is a relational being, living in perfect and eternal love and fellowship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God made humans in His image - Our desire and need for community is good and right because we image our creator.
God creates humans out of love, not out of need - God lacks nothing, therefore the creation of humans was not because He was lonely, but to share His eternal, infinite love with them.
God communes with humans in the Garden of Eden - God walked in the garden in the “cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8) and Adam and Eve were aware of His presence there. They could be with God because they were without sin.
Adam and Eve are created as a community - God created Eve as a helper for Adam because “the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone’” (Gen 2:18a), and there the first human friendship is created.
Then Eve, and Adam after her, decides that fellowship with God is not what she wants. Maybe He doesn’t know what is best. Eve disobeys God’s commands and sin enters into the world, subjecting all relationships to brokenness, selfishness, grief, and strain; our relationships with each other and our relationships with God. A glorious, powerful, holy God cannot be in the presence of sin, so He justly disciplines His image bearers by sending them out of the Garden (Gen 3:24).
But do you see something, Friend? Do you see in the early verses of Genesis chapter 4, when we are introduced to the children of Adam and Eve, that God went with them? The Lord has “regard” for Abel and “speaks” to Cain. God did not banish His image bearers and then stay far away. Right from the beginning, God desired to be with them. He was with Adam, Seth, Noah, Abraham. While sin brings consequences, God remains committed to relationship with the image bearers He has made in spite of their rebellion, and initiates a plan to restore them to Himself.
Skipping along to Exodus, we are introduced to a man named Moses, who after initially digging in his heels, was gloriously used by God to deliver the Israelites, God’s chosen people, from bondage in Egypt. God meets with Moses on a mountain top in thunder and lightning. The holy God meets with the lowly man on a mountain. Then later, after the Tabernacle is constructed, a physical dwelling place for God among His people, “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” (Exodus 33:11a).
His friend. Believer, our glorious, powerful, holy God desires to go with us, draw near to us, and speak to us as a friend.
“Jesus knows our every weakness…” : Jesus’s Compassion, Sacrifice & Friendship
Jesus, the Son of God, became human to live the perfect life that we as sinful people cannot live. Out of the Father’s great love for us and His desire to draw His people back into fellowship with Him, Jesus revoked His heavenly rights and came to fellowship with broken humans. The condescension of God in the person of His Son means that I am approached and befriended by Him. Jesus is the exact imprint of God the Father: merciful and compassionate. A true friend of sinners like me. Dane Ortland writes that "in Him [Jesus] we see Heaven's eternal heart walking around on two legs in time and space" (Gentle & Lowly).
Jesus not only desires to be in relationship with me, He died for it. On the cross, Jesus took on the righteous wrath of God and was abandoned by His Father to allow me, a selfish, sinful, undeserving human, the possibility of forgiveness and friendship with God. This is a gift, not anything I could earn, but a beautiful gift of grace. If we believe that Jesus is who He says He is and turn to Him as our only hope, we are saved and brought into fellowship with God.
In John 15:9-17, Jesus is teaching His followers what true, abiding love looks like. He says “greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13-14). If salvation and friendship with God is not something earned by “doing”, then our obedience to Jesus’s commands is confirmation that we are His friends, made so by His great love for us, through His death and resurrection. Timothy Keller said that no one is seeking fellowship with God without His gracious seeking of us first.
“What a friend we have in Jesus…Take it to the Lord in Prayer”
Do you see His great love for you, friend? Do you feel a deep longing for and a conviction to be a friend like that? Do you struggle to let God in and to be honest with Him? First, a kind warning:
"We need to avoid two errors: One error is flippantly calling Jesus a ‘chum,’ ‘buddy,’ or ‘pal’— as though friendship is trivial. On the other hand, we could so emphasize Jesus’s kingship that we neglect his companionship. We could so emphasize his authority that we don’t enjoy his affection. But Jesus offers himself to us as both our cosmic ruler and our closest friend." (Pastor Drew Hunter for Desiring God)
There is no friend like Jesus. He is our Savior, King, and Lord. His friendship with us is not one of absolute equality. But only friendship with Him is truly satisfying. Join me in repenting of running from God and of placing high expectations on our human friendships; a burden no one but Jesus is able to carry. Then join me in praying that the truths of the nearness of God and the compassion of Jesus for us would sink deep into our hearts, and that we would seek to be a friend to others as Christ has been a friend to us. Finally, join me in worshiping our great God for His goodness and faithfulness to us, His friends.
You too?