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rus. In John 12, He said, “Now is my soul forever erased. No longer are we at enmity
troubled” (v27). Then in John 13, after He with God. Like the returning prodigal, we
announced that He would be betrayed would be pleased just to be His servants.
by a friend, He was “troubled in spirit” But Jesus said, “[From now on] I call you
(v21). Facing the anguish and agony of not servants … but friends”; “Ye are my
Gethsemane, Gabbatha and Golgotha, the friends, if ye do whatsoever I command
Savior was troubled (stirred, agitated) in you” (Joh 15:14,15). So, while His friend-
body, soul and spirit. Yet such was His ship to us is unconditional, our friendship
loving heart that, in John 14, knowing He to Him is conditional. We should display
would soon die and leave His men, He our love to Him by absolute obedience to
said, “Let not your heart be troubled” (v1). whatever He asks us to do. He will always
He calmed their upset hearts after they be a friend to us, but our choice whether
learned He would die and was going away or not to obey Him as Lord in our lives can
by promising to come back personally for affect our friendship with Him.
them. And as He talked to them of what One way in which our friendship with
lay ahead for Him, the death He would die
and the suffering He would endure, He Him is affected is our choosing friend-
told these imperfect and sinful men that ship with this decaying and dying world.
He was offering His life for His friends. James, the Lord’s half-brother, wrote these
startling words: “Do you not know that
This concept is almost inconceivable. To
be a friend of God? Martin Luther once friendship with the world is enmity with
God?” (4:4 ESV). Our relationship with
said that one must know God as an enemy
before one can know Him as a friend. this world is one of the biggest traps for
Throughout the entire history of the OT, our Christian character and testimony,
only Moses and Abraham were privileged along with our adversary, Satan, and our
to be called “the friend of God.” But such old, sinful nature. The great Apostle Paul
was the love of the Lord Jesus that He lost a friend in this way. A co-worker
came to this scene of rebellion, facing en- named Demas left him, “having loved this
mity daily yet calling His men for whom present world” (2Ti 4:10).
He was about to die His friends. Our most joyful and blessed lives are
This Savior is the fulfillment of the those lived in close companionship with
Proverb, “There is a friend who sticks the Savior. Since He has first chosen to
closer than a brother.” Since we have been rename His enemies as friends and has
saved, in how many times of despair and died to prove this claim, we should take
sadness, heartbreak and loneliness has every advantage of this new relationship,
this Friend drawn near and been every- founded and fostered by His amazing
thing to and for us? He has demonstrated grace. This is a gift bestowed upon us, we
without question His friendship to us by who have deserved it the very least. One
His death for us and His present life for of the best things to have in life is good
us. We have all sung with true conviction friends. And in “the Son of God, who loved
in our hearts and souls, “What a Friend me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20),
we have in Jesus.” So how can we show we have a Friend better than any on earth.
our friendship to Him? Our Savior died for His enemies so that He
First of all, our “enemy” status has been could forever call us “my friends.”

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