Friends often come in threes. The Three Little Pigs, The Three Musketeers, The Three Stooges, The Three Amigos. While I was in high school I was part of a trio that did everything together.
Jesus told a story of three men who were friends in Luke 11.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11:5-8)
This is a story of three friends. One friend was on a journey. His friend was his host but ran out of food. This friend went to a third friend who reluctantly shared his food with him.
We discover three principles of friendship from this story:
- A friend is a person you can go to at whatever hour you need help.
- A friend is a person who will intervene for you.
- A friend is a person who will give you what you need.
These three qualities are often found between good friends. Today it seems like you can have hundreds of friends on FaceBook, but have very few real friends like this. Appreciate your true friends. Be the kind of friend you want others to be to you.
While this story helps us understand true friendship, its main purpose is to illustrate God and His friendship toward us.
1. God is someone you can go to at whatever hour you need help.
You not only an pray to God anytime, you can pray to God anywhere for any reason. Unlike the man who is in bed, God never sleeps and is never inconvenienced or annoyed by your prayers.
2. God is someone who will intervene for you.
The greatest intervention God did was to send His Son to die on a cross for the sins of the world.
3. God is someone who will give you what you need.
The greatest need of mankind is forgiveness of sins. Our problem is not politics, or health, or finances… it is sin. God does not always give us what we want, but He does provide for what we need. And our greatest need is forgiveness.
How does a person become God’s ‘friend’? By surrendering their life to Jesus Christ. Jesus wants to be your friend, whether you recognize Him as a friend or not. He has already displayed how much He wants to be your friend by dying on a cross. He sacrificed Himself for you before you even knew He existed. If you will turn to Him He will save your soul.
You can trust Jesus to be your forever friend. Turn to Him today.
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