One Friend

Without any doubt, friends are important. I feel extremely blessed to have so many wonderful friends, some who have been my friend longer than I can remember! According to my social media account, I have 956 friends ... uh, I'm not sure I can even think of 956 names! God's Word has much to say about the riches of a friend, however, here is the greatest treasure in a friend: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, ESV). This is a beautiful reference to the greatest act of the greatest friend: Jesus and the laying-down of His life for those who love Him and those He calls friend. My pastor shared a stunning statistic today that many of the younger generations have "unfriended" Jesus - they believe less and less in and of Him. When most all ages would agree "friends are important," how sad so many refuse the greatest friendship! My office holds treasures given to me by friends, my scrapbooks and boxes are filled with notes and cards from friends, my calendar tells of coffee-lunch-dinner dates with dear friends and my mind holds fondly times spent in close-friend conversations. As cherished as these things are, no friendship compares to The One Friend that matters most: Jesus ... One Friend.