I didn’t know what people meant by things like “Jesus wants to be your friend” or “Jesus wants a personal relationship with you”.  But as I age and move in and out

of human relationships, it is becoming clearer to me what it means to have a friend in Jesus Christ.

I am blessed to have quite a few friends.  Some I have known since childhood and some for just a few years.  I used to unknowingly categorize people into two camps: all good or all bad.

Then I would use my assessment to determine if I should pursue or maintain any kind of friendship with them.  This brought about a lot of confusion, and I based those categories on

traits that I either liked or disliked about them, but as time went on, I realized how absolutely NO ONE, including myself, is ALL good or ALL bad.  The fun thing about spending

time with friends is discovering that none of us are perfect, and some of us even share the same defects or weaknesses in our personalities which can lead us to find common ground.

Everyone struggles.  Everyone excels at something, too.  Some of us are amazing mothers and cooks or conquer career goals while simultaneously having difficulties with self-esteem,

marriage problems, or addictions.  What is BEAUTIFUL about choosing friendship is deciding to look past faults in other humans and choosing to love them through the faults, and cherishing

their positive qualities simultaneously.

So this brings to mind the picture of our true friendship with Jesus once we allow him into our lives.   It’s a beautiful and perfect love that is unsurpassed because He knows

more about us than any human on earth and is fully aware of our shortcomings, sins, and negative qualities, yet STILL chose to love us so powerfully and unconditionally that He died on the

cross so that we may have everlasting life!  What better friend could there be?  It is truly something to ponder and be thankful for every moment we are alive.