Jesus - My Best Friend

Who is your best friend?  Do you remember your best friend from childhood?  What do best friends do?  Everything together!  They share everything, talk about everything, help each other - they are there for one another!  Matthew 1:21-23 tells us Jesus is there for us to save us from our sins.  His name is Immanuel which means, "God with us."   John tells us He became like us (flesh) and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  Jesus didn't come to teach on a hillside, tell us how bad we were, and leave us.  He came to experience life as one of us, get to know us and identifying with us.  He can relate to us.  Afterall, He was a carpenter, had brothers and sisters, and even suffered pain.  Hebrews 2:17-18 says, “That’s why he had to enter into every detail of
human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.”  Jesus helps us, understands us, and loves us - He is our best friend.

There were a series of Nike commercials about 20 years ago that said, "Bo Knows".  Listen, Jesus knows more than Bo ever knew.  Now, Jesus is at the right hand of God and talking to Him on our behalf (Romans 8:34).  Jesus understands a lot about us and our issues and life.  He knows about relationships - he had brothers and sisters (Mark 3:21; 6:3).  He understands the issues of life because He too experienced human life.  Hebrews 4:15 tells us, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.”

Jesus knows pain.  Isaiah 53:3 and 5 say, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”  We can have peace and healing because of His punishment and suffering.  What a friend!

Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).  For those who give their lives to Him, Jesus calls them friends.  Jesus said this in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  What an amazing thought that Jesus would call me His friend.  Ever met someone who name dropped their friends they thought were important?  What a great name to drop into conversations, "Hey, I was talking to Jesus the other day...  Jesus told me..."  We can talk to Him about anything, anywhere, anytime.  We can boldly receive grace and mercy in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). 
Why not trust your life with Him today?  He loves you.  He wants to be your best friend.  If you receive Him you can become a child of God (John 1:12).  Jesus wants to be your best friend.  What a friend I've found in Him!