The Bible gives us many words that describe the Lord. That’s especially evident in the Psalms, where we are told that He is our rock, our fortress, our strong tower, our Savior, our Redeemer, our shield, our hiding place, our keeper, our shade, our refuge, our shelter, and our strength, just to name a few. But one of the most wonderful privileges we enjoy is that we can call Jesus our friend. And even more amazing is that He calls us His friends! This is what we read in the Gospel of John in 15:14-15. “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
We all have people in our lives who are our friends and who would consider us their friends. Friendship is a wonderful relationship. Our friends bring us joy as we share experiences together, as we tell one another what we appreciate about that friend, and the things we love to do to bring happiness into their hearts. Friends accept each other despite their mutual faults and failings, they lift up one another when things don’t go well, and they stand up to defend each other when they or their reputations are attacked. Friends stand beside us when others reject us. Friends speak the truth to us when we are heading in the wrong direction. Friends sit with us when we’re hurting physically or emotionally.