I love to sing: “Do you know my Jesus, Do you know my friend, Have your heard that He loves you, And will be with you to the end”. Being a friend of Jesus involves more than just saying we believe in him. We must be willing to deny self, take up our cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). This does not mean that we cannot seek to improve our lot in life or that we must deny ourselves those things that make life easier and more comfortable. It does mean that we must deny ourselves those fleshly appetites that would bring harm to our souls (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 Thess. 5:22). Taking up our cross daily does not mean that we make a wooden cross and place it on our shoulder, carrying it around everywhere we go. It simply means that we bear the burdens of life, patiently trusting in our Lord for the help we need (Heb. 4:16). It also means that we deny ourselves anything that stands between us and the Lord, be it family, friends or possessions (Matt. 10:37, Mark 8:37, Luke 12:15).

There is a big “if” attached to being a friend of Jesus. Hear the Lord as he says, “If ye keep”. This is a personal condition that must be met by any who would be a friend of Jesus. No one can do this for me. Hear the Lord as he continues by specifying what must be kept: “My commandments”. Keeping his commandments involves any and everything he commands. These cannot be just our favorite commands while others are tossed aside. There must be no division of his commandments into essential and non-essential, all must be kept to the best of our ability. I would have you also take notice that it is what he commands, not what some mortal human being, council or convention commands. It does not matter how well meaning or educated men may be, they have no authority to modify, substitute or change the Lord’s commands (Matt. 7:21, Matt. 15:9, Gal. 1:6-9, 2 John 9).

Incidentally, I believe with all my heart that most, if not all, of the problems consuming our great nation today would disappear if the people of America along with her leaders would become friends with Jesus (Proverbs 14:34, Psalms 9:17)

I am going to be a friend of Jesus. I am going to do what he says do. For me, the chorus of “I’ll Be A Friend to Jesus” says it best: “I’ll be a friend to Jesus, My life for Him I’ll spend; I’ll be a friend to Jesus, Until my years shall end”.

Charles Hicks