Friends

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:13-14)

This past weekend our youth held a mid-year “reunion” for our youth camp kids from Crest Bible Church and the other churches that attend our camp. We hold a camp every year in August with several other small churches in the area to provide a week of intensive fun, games, and of course, Bible instruction. We have been doing this for 12 years now, and have seen quite a number of young people come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Camp is an awesome time to do such a thing because the kids are away from the everyday hustle and bustle and can devote their attention to the things of God without distraction. The other great benefit of doing these things is the bonds that are created between people who share common experiences. Many of these kids have developed friendships that will last far beyond just a week at camp. During this time (High School), we often build relationships that span many years and remain throughout our lives. The next 10 years after High School sees kids make many changes. Many of them move away from the city they grew up in, and they will begin their own families and launch careers they may not even knew existed in the days of their youth. Yet friendships remain strong, especially those which are built on the timeless truths of the word of God.

Jesus gave his disciples a great charge on the night commonly known as the “Last Supper”. He told them about his coming sacrifice on the cross, and laid out the greatest love ever found in the Universe. He gave his life for those who did not deserve it, when he did not have to do it, when he could have gotten out of it, expecting nothing in return. That sacrifice ensured the salvation of multitudes who by faith would trust his death, burial and resurrection as their “ticket” to heaven. We do not earn our way into the family of God by our good works, but by his love and sacrifice.

But the next verse addresses those who have applied that sacrifice to themselves to become a Christian. Jesus gave himself willingly with no strings attached to buy us back from sin and redeem us as his friends. Once we make that decision to trust him, he does expect a level of obedience and commitment in return as his true friends. He said we are his friends if we keep his word. The continuing bond of relationship is built on our obedience to the word of God. If you had a “friend” who constantly did things to hurt you, you would question whether the friendship should continue. God is always faithful, and he will never remove your salvation or deny your place in the family of God if you are saved. But daily fellowship is broken when we deliberately violate the clear commandments of the word of God on a consistent basis. God is always our friend, but it makes it tough when we don’t return the friendship.

James 2:23 says that Abraham was called the “Friend of God”. Wouldn’t that be a great epitaph on your tombstone? The context of the passage deals with his obedience to God’s command to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. We look at that as a rather strange command, and rightfully so. It was a one time command to Abraham alone, never repeated again to anyone in the Bible or in history. The reason it was never repeated is because it is one of the clearest pictures in the Bible of the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son, and his offering was “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). God had no intention of seeing Abraham kill his son. He stopped him at the last minute and had him offer a ram in his place. But Abraham became the “Friend of God” because of his obedience to his word. True friends in this world are awesome. Sometimes they are hard to come by because of various circumstances, most notably because we are all human. But, “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). His name is Jesus. He will always be your friend because he is always faithful. If you want the friendship to grow and be the best it can be, open his word, take it to heart, and obey its precepts.