What A Friend We Have In Jesus (click here to listen to the song)

Part Four: A Reflection

     So far, we have explored the Christ of our hopes as the Pearl of Great Price, the Lily of the Valley, and the Rose of Sharon. He is so much more than these metaphors can picture. As our Teacher, Savior and Guide in all that we do upon this earthly journey, Jesus embodies all of the truth, all of the hope, and all of the joy possible in our lives. To know Him is to love Him.

John 15:9-15 states: “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in His love. I have told you this so that you may be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow! I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. And here is how to measure it–the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; and you are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in His slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me.”

    Verse one of the hymn “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” speaks to us as an example of the scripture above.

     What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear

     What a privilege to carry, everything to GOD in prayer

     Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear

     All because we do not carry, everything to GOD in Prayer

 Jesus has said that He is our Friend, and we surely know of the sacrifice and the giving of His life that took place on the Cross of Calvary. He invites us to share our sorrows and joys with Him; to speak to Him as a friend and brother or sister. That He is GOD does not detract from this privilege of personal intimacy. This is what Jesus is all about. Thus the theme of the Book of John: To know Christ as more than GOD Incarnate, as more than all of the names given to Him over time and space. So then, why do we explore the names of Jesus if they are inadequate to fully express Him and all that He is? Because in doing so a bridge is built between ourselves and our GOD with the foundation laid in the revealing of what potential is in His name. Christ is revealed to us in all of His goodness, grace, and glory that we can understand. Doesn’t it make you feel closer to Him when you realize that as your pearl of great price Jesus is revealed as pure and lustrous, solid and full of beauty and light. All answers lie in Him, and the practical things of life are explained so that we can live life more abundantly. Jesus has earned our trust through His ultimate sacrifice and He is unique in all that He is and does.  He is willing to share all of this wealth with you and me.This makes me want to know Him even more– not because of a desire to gain benefits, but as a desire to live,serve, and emote within the love of GOD. I cannot imagine anything more desirable.

     Each name reveals a facet of Jesus’ personality. That we could never give voice to all that Christ is does not diminish the reality of Who He Is. I Am lives with us each day, and as we progress to exploring Him as the Bright and Morning Star, let us reflect on GOD as the source of all that we can ever need or desire.

To be continued