YOU'RE EXCEPTIONAL - YOU'RE CHRIST'S FRIEND

Every time I send or receive a "friend" request on Facebook, I almost want to giggle. I can't help it. It always reminds me of grammar school when we used to pass another kid a note that asked, "Will you be my friend? Check yes or no." I mean, really? Have we truly evolved so little? We think we're so technologically savvy with our social networking! We even let it alter our language as we change the word "friend" from a noun to a verb . . . "SuzyQ friended me yesterday." Puhleeze! Are all these people on FB really your friends? One person I know has over 1,000 people on her FB friends list. I mean, REALLY? Does one person really have that many friends?

What is a friend, anyway? Webster's says it's "one attached to another by affection or esteem; a favored companion." That definition would zap a few people off my FB list. What about yours? Within most of our individual social networks we have many different types of friends: close friends, casual friends, new friends, old friends, acquaintances, and those wonderful treasures we call, forever friends. Our current texting, email, Facebook, and Twitter culture refers to them as BFF's. I have a few of those and am SO thankful for them. They are a special gift from God and a tremendous blessing in my life.

You know what I mean, don't you? They are the kind of friends you can trust with your confidences. And it's reciprocal. They trust you with their confidences as well. They are friends who love you. Friends who have your best interests at heart. Friends who stand by you at your lowest moments. Friends who are willing to make personal sacrifices to meet your needs.

Those of us who are in Christ have the ultimate friend. His name is Jesus and He is the one who makes us exceptional. Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. A BFF like no other! Others may desert us during times of trouble, but Jesus invites us to draw near Him.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 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. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:12-17

Did you catch the sentence in that scripture that I highlighted in a brighter color? Your friend, Jesus, takes you into His confidence. He discloses Himself to you. He invites you to draw near. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Think again about those grammar school notes I mentioned earlier. Do you remember passing one of those to someone and getting it back with "no" checked? Boy, I do! It can shatter you when someone you want to be friends with doesn't feel the same way. That doesn't just happen in childhood, does it? As adults, sometimes we reach out in friendship to someone else, only to be disappointed because they have their own agenda and don't share our desire for friendship. You'll never have that problem with Jesus! My dear exceptional sister, He is your friend because He chose to be your friend. He chose YOU!

If true friendships are reciprocal - and they are - then the critical question to ask ourselves is, "How can I be a friend to Jesus the same way He is a friend to me?"

Didn't John 15:15 say that He shares His confidences with us? Well. Reciprocate! Share your confidences with Him. Be totally honest with Him. Lay your soul bare before Him. Unburden yourself before Him. Let Him know the real you. Girlfriends, He loves you. He has your best interests at heart. He wants your friendship with Him to be open, honest and intimate.

Another aspect of friendship we talked about earlier was that true friends sacrifice personally to help meet our needs. It's easy to see how Jesus does that for us, but how do we sacrifice to meet His needs? You may think, "He's God. He doesn't have any needs." In essence, that's true. But what does He deeply desire and require? For us to love Him above all else and also love those around us.

Have you ever heard the old adage:

To dwell above with those we love,

To me that will be glory.

But to dwell below with those we know,

Well, that's another story.

Sometimes it's not easy to love those around us, is it? We don't live with perfect people and loving others in a way that honors our friendship with Christ means we have to be real and ready to forgive. I personally believe that unforgiveness is Satan's number one path of access to the Church. He is delighted when Christians fight or harbor grudges and separate one another.

Christ chose us as His friend. He loves us and has our best interests at heart. Because we are His friends, we choose to love Him back by obeying Him. By God's grace, He will enable us to bear fruit and love others - even the most unlovely.

You are CHRIST'S FRIEND and that makes you EXCEPTIONAL. Will you act like the exceptional woman you are and be open and honest about yourself to Him? Will you show your friendship with Jesus to the world around you by the way you love and are real with others?