“AH, HOW GOOD IT FEELS, THE HAND OF A FRIEND.” I am reading that on a greeting card which is in my hand. On top of that is written “Friendship”. On another card you can find the Japanese Proverb “With a friend at your side no road seems too long”.

You can find a lot of greeting cards talking about friendship. There seems to be a longing for a friend in all of us. Am I right? Just two more thoughts I read on cards: “They say friends are hard to find, luckily I know where you are.” ” Good friends are like stars, you don’t always see them. But you always know they are there.”

Yes, there is a longing for a friend in all of us. It is a joy for me to tell you about my friend, my best friend. My best friend is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is even a song about my best friend. The hymn is written by Joseph Scriven and this is verse three:

Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Saviour, still our refuge-take it to the Lord in prayer. DO THY FRIENDS DESPISE, FORSAKE THEE? Take it to the Lord in prayer; in His arms He’ll take and shield thee-thou wilt find a solace there.

I hope you have noticed the words “DO THY FRIENDS DESPISE, FORSAKE THEE?”

And these are now the words of my best friend. They are recorded in His Word and He Himself says to me, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. 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.”