From early childhood you have people in your life that you fully enjoy being in their presence. They make you laugh, listen attentively without interruption, and just make you feel important, even among the silence. Yes, you call those people your friends. They may be your mate and/or someone else. Their gender may be the same as yours, but not necessarily. Seldom do you stay in touch with childhood friends. Most of the time, they come and go as the seasons of your life change.
One characteristic of friends is that no matter when and where you meet them, they comradery between you two cannot be denied. That author, Francis Bacon, said this when referring to friends, “Friendship doubles joys and halves griefs.” When you think of your friends, either now or in the past, that statement rings true. When a happy moment is shared with a friend, it is hard to tell who gets excited more abort that event, you or them. The flip side of the coin, when you are sad with a friend, the sadness seems not as severe when you tell your friend.
Jesus tells you in Scripture that you are His child and thus a member of His family, because He has adopted you into His family. Sad to say, this does not necessarily mean you feel close to Him; you family may not have been close. Jesus tells you that you inherit all the benefits of His family member, and beside He also calls you His friend, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” Thus, Jesus tells you that you are in His family and that you are His friend. So, no matter what your past family life was like, you have had a friend somewhere along life’s pilgrimage. Friends are the jewels in your life, and the best Friend you will ever have is Jesus. Earthly friends are the jewels in your life, because they are the only things you have on earth that you can take with you to heaven. To have the best earthly friends, make sure they have Jesus as their best friend. Those kind of jewels give worth beyond description.
