Being A Friend Like Jesus

 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Heb. 13:8. Isn’t the stability of Jesus’ friendship great? His commitment, certainty, guidance, etc., no matter how much it rains in our lives. There’s a cool song to apply to that; I’ll get to it in a bit.

Jesus led me to do a series to His friendship for many reasons.  I pray it’s helpful. And, it’s even cooler when we interpret Scripture with Scripture.

Look at the verses before it. Verse 5 should be very familiar, for instance: He will never leave us or forsake us. This is why we should be content with what we have. Verse 6 promises we can boldly say that the Lord is our helper. Another little nugget is that – by connecting this to verse 8 – we have another passage to show Jesus Christ is the Lord our God. This is what we teach because of the love Jesus has shown us.

A secular song, Gordon Lightfoot’s “Rainy Day People,” went through my mind as I did part of this series recently. It’s good to use in illustrations, like Paul (Acts 17) says God created us all (Biblical truth), said their own poets say this, and went right back to the Gospel. The lyrics are about friendship, kindness, and how those who really care about you put you first and know when there’s a need. They don’t seek what they can get, they don’t care about the physical, they know time spent on others is important regardless of what they get. The song mentions love, but must mean phileos/BFF love since one verse talks about how they’ll share they’ve been down, too, and can help others rise above it because of that. (It should apply to spouses, too, though, since one’s spouse should be a best friend, too.) 

That love is one of Jesus’ many great attributes. This is where, like Acts 17, we can use things that contain Biblical truth, as long as we keep the Bible as our foundation. Think of being great at listening, helping someone through problems, or always knowing when it’s time to call (well, that’s where we rely on the Holy Spirit guiding us). It’s great to ask Jesus to help you be that kind of person. They use the Fruit of the Spirit – meekness and longsuffering to listen, love for others, peace from Jesus they can share, gentleness and goodness in helping someone with problems, etc.; you can think of other ways, I imagine - to help others. I think of this song, and it reminds me of online posts people share about being there for others, never knowing when you’ll really lift someone up, etc. Whatever inspires you to want to be that kind of person, that’s great. Just remember, it’s His Word we follow, not a song.

Of course not all have that skill, and some have to work hard to develop it. I empathize well when I know there’s a problem, but my handicaps make it hard to know if someone looks sad unless they tell me. Then, I’m also a bit hypersensitive – some songs or movies bring tears to my eyes - so I overdo it trying to help if I’m not careful, but that’s okay. I do empathize, and I share God’s love in a meaningful way. So maybe you’ll be inspired to go even further in caring about others. Or, maybe it comes naturally to you.

Either way, whatever we do, it should be for Jesus. And, He only wants us to do Biblical things. Things that are unbiblical, like cheating, lying, etc., are wrong. The Bible doesn’t say sin is okay in certain instances. Yet, there is so much sin in this world.

We should pray for God to triumph over that sin. But, a true friend should also be there to comfort and strengthen those who go through hard times. Just like Jesus does for any believer who calls on Him for help. This is how we strengthen others by sharing God is there for them, quoting Scripture to help, or just listening and consoling. And, it’s also how we help those who don’t know Jesus to see a difference in us, to see Jesus through our actions and our words. So their hearts will be tender when we share the Gospel and we can lead them to Christ.

Ask Jesus who you can help, comfort, encourage, etc., and follow His lead.