Why Jesus is the best friend you can have

I wrote recently on the subject of letting God meet your emotional needs and how we need to run to him when we feel alone. I want to share some thoughts and verses with you today to remind you that Jesus is the best friend you can ever have.

When we say that Jesus is our friend, are we being irreverent? No. It is true that God is our King, and he will always be our King. But he is also our friend and the Bible backs this up.

John 15:15 KJV - Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The Lord Jesus is our King and our God, but he invites us to be his friend also. He calls us friends.

We didn’t start out as friends of God. The Bible tells us that we were once enemies of God and that we had to be reconciled to him through faith and repentance. We had to make a choice to become a friend of God and we have to make the choice, daily, to grow our friendship.

Friendship thrives on communication and conversation. We read the Bible and God speaks to us and we respond to him through prayer and worship.

Because of who God is, and what we know of his character, we can take comfort and rejoice in the truth that he will be the best friend we can have.

Our relationships on earth and the disappointment we often face when friends let us down can be discouraging at times, but Jesus longs to be your friend and there are many solid facts found in scripture to prove why he is the best friend anyone could ever have.

Here are just a few verses that encourage my heart on this topic.

Jesus is the best friend you can ever have because:

He gave his life for you-

John 15:13 KJV - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

He accepts you as you are, regardless of your past –

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

He will never bring up your past mistakes -

Isaiah 43:25 KJV - I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

He is a faithful friend that will never leave you –

Hebrews 13:5 KJV - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

He always listens –

Psalm 5:3 KJV - My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

He is easy to approach –

Hebrews 4:16 KJV - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

He is easy to read, and you can know exactly how to please him –

Ephesians 2:10 KJV - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

He is honest and never lies –

Titus 1:2 KJV - In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

He loves you unconditionally –

1 John 4:9 KJV - In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

He always wants what is best for you –

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

He knows what you are thinking –

Psalm 139:2, 23 KJV - Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. ... Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

He will never lead you astray –

Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

As you read over these verses, can you see where human friendships often fail but God never does?

Often when friends find out about your past failures, they leave. Or maybe they’re just not honest with you. Maybe they’re difficult to approach or selfish and not looking out for you, caring only about their own interests and their future. Maybe you just don’t know how to read them and can’t figure out how to please them and be a good friend. Maybe they don’t listen to your heart when you share your passions or deepest longings. Maybe they continually bring up your past mistakes. Or maybe they’re a bad influence and don’t encourage you in your walk with God.

The Lord Jesus never fails us in any area and truly is the best friend we can ever have.

I just love that God knows us inside and out and yet he stills showers his unconditional love upon us, blessing us daily and encouraging us to walk with him, despite our past failings or faults.

He longs to have a deep and intimate relationship with you. He desires your friendship. He wants you to run to him. He waits with open arms. He is always enough.

Now, I am not disregarding human friendships, because they are important, and I believe wholeheartedly that we should make friends and strive to work on and grow our earthly friendships. We need support groups of friends around us, and we need to encourage one another in the faith, leaning on each other and lifting each other up when we fall.

Proverbs 18:24 KJV - A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

But we must always keep in mind, that friends will fail us, and we don’t have to live our lives continually misunderstood, alone or unknown, because we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. We have a friend that knows us fully yet loves us fully.

He will never leave us. He will never lie to us. He will never misunderstand us. He will always be approachable. He will always listen to us. He will always and I mean always, with not even a hint of fakery, want what is best for you. He always has your best interests at heart. He gave his life for you and there is no greater love than that.

John 15:13 KJV - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 3:16 KJV - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

If you’re struggling today in your friendships, don’t give up on them altogether, remember that they take hard work and a lot of communication, love and forgiveness, but remember you have a friend in Jesus. He is the best friend you can ever have. You can bring anything and everything to him. If you lose all your friends here on earth, you still have him by your side.

He won’t be frightened off by your moodiness, your attitude, your lack of communication. He loves you unconditionally. He will continue to love you even when you are unlovable and disobedient to him. He will never cast you aside. He will never overlook you. You will always be welcome, and he will always be there with open arms.

There may be times where you need to repent of the sin in your life and restore the fellowship to where it once was, but once you become a friend of God, you will always be a friend of God.

John 6:37 KJV - All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Take comfort in knowing that the friendship we have with God is unparalleled, unmatched, unsurpassed, unrivalled, unequalled and incomparable!