God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, to show mankind that He desired to have a friendship with each of us. His desire was – and still is – to be that Friend that is closer to you than a brother.

I thank You, Lord, this Christmas for all the true friends You have given to me and the ministry. They are life’s best blessings. They are like You, Lord, always there in a time of need. Their love is more precious than gold. I can trust in their faithfulness to support and uplift me.

I pray to the Lord that each one of you know that I have been and always will be your friend. I will always be there for you, as the dear Lord has been there for me.

Many today have forsaken their friendships for lesser, carnal causes, choosing friendship with the world over their bonds in Christ. But You, O Father, have given us Your Son Jesus, our Friend in this life and for eternity.

This year, the Holy Spirit wants us to deeply connect with the precious gift of friendships, and Jesus is our model. For Jesus, friendship is the ultimate relationship with God and with one another. Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him and one another. He said, “I do not call you servants, because the servant does not know what his lord is doing. But I have called you friends, for all things I have heard from My Father, I have made known to you.”

We know that there is no greater love than a man lay down his life for his friends. Even the Greek writer Plato said, “Only those who love wish to die for others.” This ideal of friendship was highly valued in the world that Jesus lived in.

The value of friendship seems not to have the same value in today’s society. But it is still of utmost importance to the Kingdom of God and the character of God’s people. Today’s friendships tend to be pragmatic or politically expedient.

The Gospel of John presents us with Jesus’ standard of friendship. He is our example of a friend, even to Judas after betrayal. Jesus never betrayed a friendship, and Jesus is our source of friendship, for He taught His disciples to love as He loved by what He gave them:  His own love. What Jesus taught, He gave to everyone.

This Christmas, I give the Lord much thanksgiving for all of you, and I give you my love and my promise to put your life in God, your welfare, and your spiritual increase and care of your soul above all else. So may this Christmas be cherished as one where the love and friendship of God be received in a fuller, more profound way in our hearts, for the truth of our friendship with Jesus is not so much about what He does for us, but more about what we as His friends do for Him.

May the gifts of our friendships in the Lord be cherished above natural gifts because we recognize their divine character, for Jesus, our ultimate Christmas Gift, is present in all our friendships in Him.