What A Friend!!!

WHAT A FRIEND!!!

It has been said that the World today courtesy Globalization resembles a spider’s web. Well…the unique thing about the spider’s web is that you touch any part of it, the whole web starts vibrating in due course. So it’s hardly surprising that the Friendship day first “pioneered” and heralded by a small South American Country namely Paraguay on 20th July, 1958 would have its ramifications on the whole world what with UN Declaring in due course (on April 27th, 2011 to be more precise) that “World Friendship Day” would be observed on July 30th of every year. In India we celebrate it on every first Sunday of August. It has also been declared by UN that the little adorable bear “Winnie the pooh” would be its global friendship mascot.

Be that as it may, the immortal song “What a friend, we have in Jesus” was written by a faithful Christian Joseph Scriven long before (in 1856) the first Friendship day was observed globally. He who had experienced Lord’s inimitable friendly embrace (read great comfort- 2 Cor 1:3-4 ) in the midst of his own personal tragedies let his sentiments from deep within his heart flow copiously out in the form of that memorable song.

What makes the Saviour our unique friend? Well, Yours truly in this month of August (at a time the World celebrates the World Friendship day) endeavors to bring to his readership the unique friendship traits in Christ the Redeemer and the responsibility that comes our way on being beneficiaries of the same…

Conquer…

Let it be said that it takes a great act of selfless love to win over the heart of a person. Our Lord’s friendship credentials of portraying sacrificial love is best captured in this Scripture portion which reads thus…

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,…”- Rom 5:10

Hey, we have heard that heroes’ are born to kill enemies. Indian Scriptures for instance abound with tales of donning of avatars’ by deities specifically for destroying evil men but how’s this for reversal of roles? Here we have the sinless, Holy one of Eternity donning “flesh and blood” specifically for dying for the “eternal spiritual welfare” (read salvation) of His enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to crucify Him!

When the import of this sacrifice registers on any sane individual, his natural response would be of seeking friendship with such an individual who would go to any extent for ensuring the former’s welfare. I am no exception either. On October 16th, 1983 as the nuances of the Gospel were being explained to me, I sought and sealed my “Friendship pact” with the ONE who stooped (Boy…to what levels!- Phil 2:4-11 ) to conquer my heart.

Covenant…

In the manner Prince Jonanthan entered into a Covenantal relationship with lowly Shepherd boy…David and symbolically sealed it by donation of his robe and armour (1 Sam 18:1-4 ), our Lord too when we receive Him as “Lord of our lives” (Rom 10:8-10 ) enters into a Covenantal relationship with us by “donation” of His Holy Spirit which He deposits in our hearts (2 Cor 1:22 / Eph 1:13-14 ). It is by this marvelous provision (of His own Spirit-need to experience it to understand it perfectly) at the point of regeneration of a Christian (read his born again experience) that the Lord gives the Christian the needed resources to fulfill the terms of the Eternal Covenant which simply put is all about living as per His will at all times (1 Cor 10:31 ).

While on the subject it would serve us well to understand meaning of the word “Covenant” (in Hebrew Berith and in Greek Diatheke) clearly by distinguishing it from its “look-alike”…hmmm… “Contract”, which has been mistaken by many to be its synonym, when in fact it is not! While both of have conditions to be fulfilled between those who are party to it, the word Contract is usually used to typify an agreement between two parties of same stature (eg…a building contract between the Landowner and a Building contractor) whereas Covenant signifies a binding agreement between two parties, one of whom is surely greater than the other. While Biblically one between a Prince and a Shepherd, Saviour and the Sinner perfectly matches the definition of a Covenant, in the earthly realm…a Marriage or a Will left behind by a father can be best examples of a Covenant.

Digging a little more deep into the Covenant between Jonanthan-David, one would observe that while Jonanthan would time and again keep his promises even by putting his own life in danger at times (I Sam 20:1-34 ), David too would fulfill his vows at the proper time by virtually adopting Jonanthan’s son namely Mephibosheth as his own and granting him all the privileges that go with it (2 Sam 9 ). By the same token in our Saviour-Sinner covenant while our Eternal Saviour cum Friend Christ would never abandon or forsake us (Heb 13:5-6 ), we at no point of time, ought to turn our backs to Him (Heb 10:38-39 ).