Lots of vigorous exercise today – two rounds of shoveling from two days of snow (totaling 9 ½ inches!) to clear from our driveway, has made me weary but jubilant, as well. Pounds lost is always a benefit! Thank You, Father, for the beauty and the opportunity to get in better shape!
John 1:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
Throughout my growing up years, we moved quite regularly. The longest we ever lived in one place was about five years. I was a PK…a preacher’s kid. For whatever reason, I took it all in stride. I didn’t focus on what I was leaving behind but focused on what I would find before me.
I can still remember many names of childhood friends. I made lots of friends over those years but not until middle school, did I start having “best” friends – individuals with whom I spent a lot of time beyond school. My middle school best friend was Richie. (I can still remember he was doing an experiment by keeping two eggs in their shells in a coffee can with the lid on They had been there for a long time and you didn’t dare break them!} My high school best friend was Rob. (With him, amongst many things, I learned about crepes, wassail, J.R.R. Tolkien – Hobbits and Gandalf, and the joys of RISK! I remember when the fair was set up in town, spending an entire evening running around in the pouring rain. We had a blast!)
Try as I might I have never been able to reconnect with Richie. But Rob and I, though we saw each other when we were in college, managed to find each other on Facebook and though we don’t have the relationship we once had, I care for him and his family deeply.
The Apostle John had a very special Friend – and they had a very special relationship. He and his Friend spent three and a half years together, along with eleven other good friends and the thronging multitudes of Israel.
They weren’t just passing acquaintances but truly became eternal friends. Though towards the end of that three and a half years, his friend’s life would be taken, it did not take away from their friendship. It was aided tremendously by the fact that though His life was taken, He was resurrected on the third day! John followed Jesus will all his heart from the first time they met. He carried the truth of who Jesus was forward, leaving us his writing about Jesus’ life and the resulting Good News of that life and impact upon the world.
All told John wrote his Gospel, three short letters (epistles) to encourage the faithful followers of Jesus and the Book of Revelation.
John in his writing shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus (see especially John 1:14)-a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, the one who “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). *
In Jesus, John found a friend like no other. Toward the end of his life, John was exiled on an island, but he never lost his faith in his Friend and Savior. Through the ups and downs of his life, his Friend never left his side.
It reminds me of an old, old song…
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
~ What a Friend We Have in Jesus written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriven
Jesus readily extends His hand of friendship to all. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 2nd, 2021, Tues, 7:57 pm
