Jesus said to his disciples.John 15:15).
Before Jesus went to Jerusalem to die, he stopped on the way to meet his best friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Jesus had twelve disciples (well, 11 anyway), Three of them were close friends of his.
Jesus shared his glory with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. He wanted his three best friends to experience with him the joyous brilliance of his glory. He didn’t want to go through his transformation alone.
Jesus was suffering in paradise the night before he was crucified. He begged his disciples to see him and pray. He needed a close friend to give him encouragement and comfort.
Unfortunately in that case they were not up to the task.
Every Christian needs a close friend to walk through life with.
2. We live in a lonely culture. Everyone could use some friends.
I was sitting at the Tulsa airport when the man next to me started talking about his friend.
He shared that he didn’t have any. In fact, he recently told me that his wife told him, “You need a friend.”
“So I went out and bought a dog. As you know, dogs are man’s best friend!”
Is it sad?
Don’t get me wrong. Dogs can be great companions. Her daughter Brianna says that God must have created dogs just before Eve because dogs love well, respond to emotions and show loyalty.
But don’t miss this. Even in the Garden of Eden, with the Creator as his companion, God saw Adam’s loneliness and said, Make him a worthy helper. ’ So he created Eve.
God made us to live in relationship with each other.
3. Our world is full of people who seem happy on the outside but who are inside crying out for someone to love them.
Many feel confused, lonely, frustrated, scared, guilty, and unable to communicate even with their own families.
Others seem so happy and contented that we rarely have the courage to admit our own deep needs.
Don’t be fooled. Only these people, who seem so happy and contented, take off their masks, and we often see them suffer as much, if not more, than we do.
