Jesus is our Friend

So, the question was posited at the end of class Monday: Using scripture, can we find a basis for Jesus being our friend. I say, Yes. I will use Lewis' definition of Friendship and examples from the Bible to prove such.

First, Lewis defines friendship as people who are headed towards the same goal. They see the same truths. If this is the case, then it is obviously yes that we can be friends with Jesus. In fact, I'd declare it's an absolute MUST! Jesus died to save us, but he LIVED to show us the way. (John 14:6, I am the way the truth the life, no one comes to the father but through me.) If this is true, we, as Christians, are CALLED to be Jesus' friends. We are called to live a life of servanthood, like Christ, and to humble ourselves to those around us. Christ's life was about sharing the goodnews--and living the goodnews! I would say, if we are Christians, Christ and us have the same focus point. (Not heaven, but service) Lewis, in the Problem of Pain, argues that heaven should not be the reward- I agree! It is a "reward" because we have lived according to the covenant God created for us, but that's not the point. There's so much more, for example, following Christ. We are friends because the Christian view point is to serve others humbly, and that's what Jesus did too. Thus we are sharing the same view point. Additionally, Jesus says in John 15:14-15 "You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. "(NLT) We are no longer slaves to Jesus because he has confided/told us truth- he tells us what The Father told him. I found that interesting. So yes, there is support for being Friends with Jesus. And YES we should encourage young children to be friends with Jesus. As they grow up and mature they will come to experience Christ's love differently and know that he's not only a friend who will take them to heaven when they die, but also a friend, a healer, a savior..etc..

I would like to make a disclaimer: I do not believe we addressed friendship love in cooperation with the other loves. Lewis' definition of friendship requires no affection/eros/charity. But, I'd like to think that THAT isn't truly friendship. To have common interests does not constitute a friendship, but it helps to form and sustain one. Without affection and charity, I feel that Friendship has nothing to offer- no reason to form. So what if another person sees the same truth as you. If you don't care for anything but that truth, why do you care about the person joining you side by side? In any case, This ties back to Friends with Jesus. We, by Lewis' definition, must be friends with Jesus (if we are Christian) but I do not think we should JUST be friends with Jesus either. Affection, Charity, and Eros seem to involve investing in another person's life. Jesus invested his ALL in our lives; when we invest ourselves in him learning more about him, we know him more and care about his view of truth more. The truth we are seeking becomes more prominent and encourages Friendship. (if indeed, friendship can include the other loves.)

(Hopefully, this all made sense and I'm not talking in circles.)