This morning I’m thinking about a dear friend who passed away recently.  It was a friendship that grew over many years time.   It started with a simple conversation, but as the years went on we shared our lives together.  When we were apart, we wrote long letters. (Remember the days before emails and texts?) We shared joys and sorrows, fears and frustrations, worries and smiles.  I learned that I could trust her; she learned that she could trust me. As a relationship, it was the best.

But how about our relationship with Jesus?  What does it mean to have a personal Savior?  Let’s think about that.

I first learned about Jesus in Sunday School.  I heard about the miraculous things Jesus could do, stuff that no one else could handle.  I sang “Jesus Loves Me”.  At night my mother came to my bedside while I said my prayers. I knew the words well; yet they were largely recitations.  Jesus was wonderful, but I thought of Him as someone far away, above the clouds, in a place called heaven. I learned about Him, but our relationship was just beginning.

Like  human friendships, a relationship with Jesus grows as we spend more time together.  The challenges of a lifetime offer precious opportunities for this.  We talk to Him, listen for Him, share our burdens with Him, trust Him, sing His praises.  We accept Him as our friend.  It seems that as I grew older, I slowed down a bit and had more time for God’s Word and prayer.  I lost some of my self-sufficiency and realized, more than ever, my need for Him.  How about you?

Jesus is ready.  He’s the best friend you and I could ever have.  As we read in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  Take the time to do your part in building this wonderful relationship.

“What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear —
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”

I find Psalm 23 to be especially loving and comforting in describing our relationship with our Lord.  I hope you will too. Remember: Jesus loves you; He loves you unconditionally.

Judy (2017)