April 23

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. — Prov 17:17 BSB

We do not need a dead Jesus; we need a living Jesus. We do not need an absent Jesus; we need a present Jesus. Not a once Jesus, but a now Jesus. We need a Friend at the right hand of God this very moment—an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, yet tender and compassionate Mediator between God and us. We need an interceding High Priest, a Surety, and a Representative in our human nature in the courts of heaven, someone who is merciful and loving toward us on earth—“whose heart is full of tenderness, whose affections overflow with love.”

Our needs drive us to feel this. Our sins and sorrows send us constantly to the throne of grace. This world is a valley of tears, full of thorns and briars that tear at our flesh. We need a real Friend. Haven’t you sometimes tossed restlessly in your bed, almost crying out, “Oh, that I had a friend!” Perhaps you have been cruelly hurt by someone you considered a true friend, and now you feel as if no one is there to care for you or love you in return. Your heart longs for a friend who will truly be a friend indeed. The widow, the orphan, the abandoned, and the lonely all feel this need deeply. But if grace has touched your heart, you know that even if all men forsake you, there is a Friend of sinners, a Brother born for adversity, a Friend who loves at all times, and who will never leave or forsake you.

But this Friend must also be almighty, for no other can meet our needs. He must be a divine Friend. Who but God can see us wherever we are? Who but God can read our innermost thoughts, hear our prayers, and stretch forth His hand to deliver us? The Deity of Christ is not just a doctrine to be believed; it is an experience worked deeply into the heart of every believer. Happy is the soul, and happy the time, when you can say with the Church, “This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Solomon 5:16).

The very needs of our soul teach us that our Friend must be a heavenly Friend. His heart and hand must be divine, or they are not sufficient for us. This Friend, who was reproached on earth as the "Friend of sinners," now bears that title as His highest glory in heaven. He is our great High Priest, merciful, pitiful, and compassionate. We need all the compassion His loving heart can offer, for we are constantly in need of His pure mercy and rich, boundless compassion.