Becoming a Faithful Friend: Jesus’ Best Friend John Day 4

Many years ago, there was a group of Christians who had a saying about relationships. They said that some folks were swallow friends who left when winter comes.

Swallow friends are seasonal friends. They stick around when life is going well, but they fly away when things start going rough.

If we have even one faithful friend, we are blessed. If we can be a faithful friend to someone else, we are a blessing.

When the Lord Jesus walked the earth, He had one friend who was most faithful. His name was John.

John left everything to walk with Jesus, and in the years that followed, he witnessed firsthand the miraculous life, death, and resurrection of the Lord. When Jesus preached, taught, healed, cast out demons, and raised the dead, John saw it all. Jesus trusted John, and John remained fully faithful to his friend and Lord.

After Jesus returned to heaven, Father John spent decades caring for the young church, leading them according to the Way and the Truth, and reminding them to “love one another, for love is from God” (1 John 4:7).

John learned about friendship from Jesus. Jesus was a loyal friend to John, and in their years together, Jesus never abandoned John, even though he was at times admittedly difficult to deal with. Jesus never betrayed, used, or abused John.

Because John had Jesus as his best friend, John grew emotionally and relationally healthy. The same is true with us. We are often not emotionally or relationally healthy. We seek out friendships with other people only to be disappointed that they are not the great friend we were hoping for. Instead, if we, like John, make our friendship with Jesus our top priority, then we have our relational needs met and can take the love He gives us to share it with others. In this way, a healthy relationship with Jesus is the beginning of becoming a healthy person with other healthy relationships.

How about you? How is your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you getting enough time talking to Him in prayer? Are you getting enough time listening to Him in Scripture? What things are hindering your friendship with Jesus? What changes can you make today to start improving your relationship with Jesus this year?

 

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