Thursday the 16th

Matthew 18:  ²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 

What a friend we have in Jesus…it is an older hymn that most everyone knows or at least recognizes. Many country artists will drop it into their song somewhere…”Jesus is my friend”. We tell each other that Jesus is our friend, and many people will use that phrase when recounting their testimony. We like that term, we love the implication, we know that with a friend like Jesus we have nothing to fear. Yet, as with any phrase, we have used it so often, that I fear the power of that phrase might be lost on some. This scripture gives us insight into what type of friend Jesus is. You see when we think of a friend , we often think of the type if friend we are as well. We tend to become friends of convenience. We are friends when the circumstances work for both parties. We become friends that while we might be friends, there might come a time when we cannot be friends any longer. As my father used to say about most friends “they are friends through thick, and thin….but when it gets thick, they thin out.” As a result many people, because of phrases like this,  think of Jesus as just their friend, not their friend and Savior. The difference is that Christ is a friend that a friend would like to have. Jesus is there for you all of the time, not just when it suits Him……or maybe it is when it suits Him, He just loves us so much that all the time is the time that suits Him! You know what the best part of Christ’s friendship is? It is His forgiveness. You see while most friends will put up with you for a while, you slip up one time to many and you are out. Jesus on the other hand knows you better than you know yourself, He was there when you were created, HE was there before you were created. He knows that you are going to stumble and fall…..many times….and over the same rock! While the world might leave behind those who repeat the same mistakes, Christ knows that you will eventually succeed, and He does not mind waiting, helping, and encouraging you to get that foot a little higher on the next pass. With each stumble, Christ simply stands by your side, giving you a shoulder to lean on, and the words of encouragement, you can hear Him whisper “it’s ok, next time, you got it!” He does not damn you for your transgression, He forgives it, and readies you for the next run. Jesus is a friend to each on of us, but do not make the mistake of humanizing Him to the point of thinking He is anything like your best human friend. e He is well above that! He forgives, not until He is tired of you failing, but until you are successful. He loves not until you fall one to many times, but for an eternal lifetime. He is with you through thick and thin, and when it gets thick, He gets thicker into your life. The tricky part of this relationship is two fold first, you have to let Him be that friend, and second, you have to work to be as good a friend to Him.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com