header.gif (8348 bytes)
Church People Programs Calendar Resources For Members
The Fourth Friday of Lent

February 29, 2008

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS 

(Note: we had permission to print the text during Lent but have had to remove the text after Lent.  Refer to your hymnal for the text.)

My first connection to this hymn dates to an early Sunday school class. My teacher encouraged me to pray and ask God’s forgiveness for my sins. I was cautious about opening up that whole can of worms. A 6-year-old with a kid sister can muster quite a list of sins.

I had tried a few times to confess sins to my father, and I had been sent to my room to ponder the error of my ways. I decided to clam up about sins.

Dad came up with a new approach. He told me he could look into my eyes and tell whether I was being truthful. He tried those X-ray eyes on me, and darned if he couldn’t make it work. 

My Sunday school teacher asked about my friends. Did I have special friends I could sit down and talk with, friends I could trust? I told her about my best friends, but Jesus wasn’t on the list. I loved Jesus, but I had not thought of him as my friend. The teacher described a picture of Jesus sitting at his father’s side while I was praying … father and son, my friends in the heavenly kingdom.

We went through all the verses of the hymn. Line by line, I began to understand. I have a friend in Jesus, a friend who knows my every weakness and loves me anyway. (That’s even better than my dad’s eye trick!) I can share my sorrows with Jesus, my faithful friend; I can even share my sins. With Jesus as my friend, I can take everything to God in prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for sharing your son, my friend Jesus, with us. And thank you for inspiring all the little miracles that happen every week in Sunday school classes around the world.

Tom Cronk


[Yesterday |Lenten Index | Tomorrow]


Site Map

Church ] People ] Programs ] Calendar ] Resources ] Members ]