No friendship is perfect. Earthly friends sometimes fail, but good friends do not discard one another because of imperfections. Neither does Jesus. He is our example of the friend that is described in Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times..." A friend's love is loyal and constant, and does not leave us when things become unpleasant. I believe in the sowing and reaping biblical principle. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want to have trustworthy friends, be a trustworthy friend. When you give your word to do something with a friend, keep your word, and do it with joy. When your friends decide to up and leave your friendship, Jesus is your closest Friend, and He will send another person into your life that will replace that missing friendship. Many times, although we don't like that change, God is taking us to another level of trusting Him to be first place in our lives.
Friendship calls for the realization of who our friends are. It is hard to enjoy a close friendship without recognizing who a person is. Discovering that a friend has been less than truthful with us about who he or she is can put a strain on the friendship. We expect friends to be honest with us. If not, trusting a friend is difficult. This is also true in our friendship with Jesus. If we say He is our Friend, we must understand who He is and allow this recognition to shape our response to Him. Only when we have this understanding can we really enjoy the close friendship He offers us.
We may all blush at the shortcomings of our friendship with Jesus. After all, friendship with Jesus is defined by obedience (see John 14:23). If we have disobeyed Jesus - and all of us have at some time - we fell short in our friendship wiht Him. Peter denied Christ three times, yet Peter's example reminds us that Jesus' friendship can continue beyond our failures. Like Peter, we must return to our Lord after our failure, ask His forgiveness, and recommit ourselves to follow Him. When this happens, friendship with Jesus and others will be renewed. Putting Christ first place, eveything else will fall in place.
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