My friend, Jesus!
Last week I had the pleasure of lunch with a dear friend. We went to a nice Italian restaurant in Porterville. The food was delicious and the visit was a real spirit lifter! She had been on a trip and mentioned seeing a group of signs along the highway like the old Burma Shave advertisements. This group ended a little different. It was John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends”.
When I got home I looked up the verse and discovered at one time I had underlined verses 14-17. It says, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another”. When I read those verses I was overwhelmed when I saw that at the end of verse 17 I had written, “Jesus, My Friend!”
A portion of the reference to the word friend in my Bible is from the Strong’s Concordance, “Friend, companion, neighbor, fellowman, a familiar person. This noun occurs 180 times.”
The more I read about friends the more thankful I became. I began to look over the years of my life. There were so many experiences of love and encouragement.
My husband and I lived in La Mirada California and attended a church where we became special friends with 2 other couples. We called ourselves “The Six Pack.” We had great times of fellowship and encouragement and serving in the church. It is now many years later and I still remember the special friendship.
Another special memory was a time when my friend Shirley and I started a greeting card business. We chose a butterfly and named it Sha-Shi to appear on each card that would express “God loves you! You are a very special person.” That was many years ago but it is a memory of a friend who is a tremendous artist and shared the challenge of a greeting card business to encourage people to share God’s love.
There are many times in the span of life when memories are painful but how very thankful I am that I had lunch with a dear friend who told me about the verses in John 15. I now cherish the memory of the time I wrote in my Bible, “Jesus, my Friend.”
When I gave this to my husband of 63 years to critique, he read it and handed it back to me and said “You are my best friend!” I was blessed.
Jesus told His disciples in the 17th verse of John, “These things I command you, that you love one another”. As Valentines Day approaches, it would be a good time to share His love with others and may you be blessed by doing so.
Sharon Lamb is a member of Hillside Community Church; member of the YAH (Young at Heart) seniors group; and the Christian Writers Guild Alum. Send e-mail to wslamb@pvilleca.com.
