Jesus Wants to Be Your Friend

[449 words] Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, “The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” We all like to have friends, but having close friends is a great blessing. The reason for this is that in close friendships, we have companionship, sympathy, encouragement, support, acceptance, love, trust—the positive list goes on and on. It’s good to have good friends and it’s great to have great friends. Truly great friends are rare and precious, indeed. Jesus was one who was a friend to those that most would not befriend. He was a friend to the downtrodden of society: the handicapped, the diseased, the poor (Matt. 11:4-5), He was friends to every gender and race (John 4:1-10). Jesus was even accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 7:34). Yes, Jesus was a friend to all, for He gave Himself for all of mankind (1 John…