My Best Friend

Last Sunday we spent most of the afternoon in fellowship with a Christian couple we’d not seen for a year or two. Last night we stayed up late visiting with another couple we see more frequently. How rich these occasions occupy our memories. God blesses His people with wonderful friendships.

This unity and enjoyment are largely because of the Holy Spirit whom we share. He makes possible a deeper common interest than hobbies, family life or work. Because of Him we have agreement on eternal matters. We even laugh at the same foibles because these are our common quirks and struggle with the same sins for these also are common to our human experience.

Yet even with the transparency and intimacy of such good friendships, I know that no one and nothing can take the place of my relationship with Jesus. If that should happen, I would find myself with a barrenness that no human help or counsel could fill. As Spurgeon says in today’s reading, anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God, and He does not want me to fall into idolatry.

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

Jesus is the fountain. Sometimes He manifests Himself through His people and that open fellowship is sweet. Yet even this is not sufficient for our thirst if we abandon communion with Him and try relying solely on His people.

Is there a balance to strive for, a formula that can keep me from replacing Jesus with others? Not that I know of. This is a matter of the heart. If I pay attention to my own motivations, then I know when I’ve begun to crave human fellowship over time with Him, and when I need to withdraw and drink from the Living water that He offers.

Why would this straying happen anyway? For me, it happens because I have that human desire to walk by sight instead of faith, to see God “with skin on” for this satisfies my human senses, at least for a little while. However, walking by faith is much more difficult and depends on a deeper knowledge of God than my soul can forge. He calls me to a spiritual union, a spiritual intimacy that is found only in helplessness, humility, contriteness of heart and a deep sense of barrenness and need. For the most part, those are not “feel good” conditions.

Yet Jesus is the fountain of life, not a tap for the merely thirsty, but life itself for those who would otherwise be overwhelmed by death. I can enjoy that shared life to some degree with my friends, but it actually can be drawn only from Jesus.

The verse from Psalm 36 also speaks of His light and this is a parallel principle. My friends enlighten me at times, but for them and for me, Jesus is the Light, our source of truth. If I seek illumination from others, they may or may not have it. What they have can be clouded, misunderstood, or simply for them and not for me. Only Jesus can speak “rhema” — that special word from Him that is directly to my need.

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God, I am so thankful for good friends and wonderful times of fellowship with them. You bless us in our relationships as no one else can. I am also so thankful that You are my best friend and I can have deeply intimate fellowship with You that goes beyond friendship. You give light into all the dark places and perplexities of life that no one else can; You fully understand my heart and my needs. Even more, You are my source of life itself, the very fountain that quenches every thirst and satisfies all my needs. Praise Your name!