There is a phrase in Spanish that depicts a particular friendship that is built on trust and loyalty. “Mi amigo fiel” (my faithful friend)! I love that phrase because faithful friendships are rare and precious. Do you have them? I am fortunate to be able to say yes, I do. You don’t need lots of friend to go through life with, but everyone needs a few. When Jesus was criticized by religious leaders for eating and talking with sinners and tax collectors,… Jesus defended Himself by revealing God’s heart toward people, especially the Jewish people. He said, God wants your loyalty (faithful friendship), not your sacrificial rituals. The same it true today. You really can know Him through prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with other believers. Do you? Because all the other things you do- pale in comparison and matter little to Him.
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion (loyalty), rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:9-13 NASB
How is my prayer life right now? Do I withhold God’s love from anyone who I perceive to a “sinner”?
God, as this day begins- I am blessed with friendship. I pray I can be that faithful friend to others as well. Most of all, I am so grateful I might be called a ‘friend of God’. Please count me as such, in Jesus name!
