June 17 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Who are your friends? Our associations and friendships say a great deal about us, our interests, our values, our goals and aspirations. If we spend our time going to bars and finding friends there, we will soon be seen as belonging to that crowd. The Pharisees consider Jesus to be the friend of tax collectors and sinners. That’s why they reject His ministry. And don’t they have a point? Do Jesus’ associations give the right impression?

Jesus does not deny that He is a friend of sinners. He is not ashamed to be called their friend. He does not shun or avoid them but He seeks them out. Let us not forget that the Pharisees were making a wrong distinction. Any relationship Jesus had with human beings was an association with sinners! Jesus never condoned sin. His friendship with sinners was used to draw them to the mercy of the Lord, by leading them down the path of repentance and forgiveness.

We shouldn’t try drawing a direct comparison between Christ’s friendships and ours today. Yet His friendships make us think about what motivates us to associate with certain people. Jesus takes you and me from asking “Who are my friends?” to “What is the goal and motivation of my relationships with other people?” I may feel very smug and comfortable associating with people who think the same way I do. These friendships may seem to be very Christian, but if I can’t express what lives in my heart, my struggles, joys and love for the Lord, then the friendship is empty. Jesus’ associations are always for the eternal well-being of the recipient. Isn’t that what friends are for?

Those who stand around and voice their criticism reveal how their own hearts aren’t right with the Lord. A woman who is a “sinner” enters Simon’s house while Jesus is present. Simon is critical of Christ’s reaction to her presence. Caught up in his own self-righteousness he does not reach out to a lost sinner. Christ’s friendship leads this woman to repentance and moves her to a response of deep love. But Jesus is more than a friend of sinners. He reveals Himself to have the power to forgive sinners. If we wish to find true friends, we need to look to Him who is the only source of true and eternal friendship. Friends are not perfect but they, and we, need a mutual Saviour!