Sep 11 – MAKE FRIENDS!

“…make friends for yourselves” (Luke 16:9).

Jesus Christ looked at His disciples and said, “Make friends for yourselves.” Do you know why? You have to make friends so that you get accepted in the eternal dwellings. You can make friends by spending time with souls. These are not worldly friends but eternal ones. They are Spiritual friends.

Many people say that they neither want to have friends nor enemies. But, God says that you need friends. You need friends to share your burden. Friends are required to pray for one another. Friends are essential in assembling the congregation. Who is a friend? One who exhibits friendliness is the friend. Solomon the wise says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Who is a friend? Thiruvalluvar, a famous Tamil poet, has written a poem on friendship. Its meaning is as follows:  A true friend hastens to the rescue of the afflicted, as readily as the hand of one, whose garment gets loosened before an assembly.

The greatest sorrow among all sorrows is nothing but falling into the sea of hell. It is the one that is getting caught in the lusts of sin. A true friend has to shoulder the burden of his friend, pray for him fervently and thus save his soul.

Jesus Christ did the same for us. Is it not? Who else we have who could be a better friend than Him? Did He not descend from heaven, give His life on the Cross of Calvary and redeem our souls? Did He not protect us from getting destroyed eternally? The Scripture says, “Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).

When Jesus Christ came to the world, many people accused Him. They said that He is a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 7:34). Yes. He moved with them and saved their souls too. He had loving friendships even with those who were looked down upon with disgust by the world.

Dear children of God, are you sad that there is none to show love towards you? Here, is a God who cares for you. He loves you with great concern over your soul. He is none but Jesus Christ.

To meditate: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).