Jesus Our True Friend
Friends are deeply important to our spiritual health because they shape us. Proverbs 13:20 teaches, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” In short, our closest companions shape who we become. The wisdom expressed in this proverb is captured in the life of Joash, a king of Judah.
Joash became king of Judah when he was seven years old, and he reigned for forty years. Second Chronicles 24:2 describes his reign this way: “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years of Jehoiada the priest.” Under Jehoiada’s influence, Joash restored the temple of the LORD, removed the idols and other pagan relics from the temple, and ensured that burnt offerings were continually made to the LORD. As long as Jehoiada lived, Joash did what was right in the eyes of God. But after Jehoiada died, everything changed.
After Jehoiada’s death, Joash began listening to the officials of Judah. Consequently, he ruled differently. He abandoned the temple, resumed the worship of idols, and ignored the prophets God sent to warn him. He even ordered the execution of Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Under the influence of new friends Joash’s life and reign took on a entirely different and disturbing shape. In the end, the LORD brought judgment upon Joash and gave him into the hands of a murderous coup. How might Joash’s life have turned out if he had sought out more friends like Jehoiada?
The people closest to us have a significant influence on the kind of people we are becoming. Their examples and words are shaping us, for better or for worse. So, if we are concerned about the direction of our lives—and I believe we all are—then we should prayerfully cultivate and seek out friendships with those who point us to Jesus and show us how to walk with him.
This is so because Jesus is a friend like no other. He is the truest of all friends. Jesus is unique as a friend because he is not transformed by his friendships. Instead, he transforms those who become his friends. Matthew and Luke record that Jesus was criticized as “a friend of sinners” (Matt. 11:19; Luke 15:1–2). When Jesus befriended sinners, he did not become like them. They became like him. In friendship with Jesus, tax collectors, prostitutes, and self-righteous religious zealots were forgiven and welcomed into friendship with God. Further, Jesus’s friendship with sinners is so true that he traded places with them (John 15:12-13).
As sinners, we all deserve God’s judgment, like Joash. None of us has the right to be on speaking terms with God. We all deserve death, but our true Friend—sent by the Father—took our place. He entered into our ruptured relationship with God, took upon himself the judgment we deserved, and laid down his life for us, only to take it up again. Our truest Friend conquered sin and death so that we could become like him and know God’s friendship forever.
As we walk with Jesus in this life and in the next, our friendship with God deepens and deepens. Our friends shape who we are becoming, so we should look to Jesus as our truest friend. With Him we become God’s friends.
