Posts Tagged ‘Jesus our Friend’

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1 John 4:7-21;
Psalm 63:1-8;
Luke 24:13-35

Like the founder of our Society, Richard Meux Benson, I grew up in an Evangelical tradition of the church.  The word ‘evangelical’ comes from the Greek euangelion, which means “bearer of good news,” and it is the charism of the evangelical tradition to spread by word the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world.  And so from a young age I was taught vivid Bible stories in Sunday School,that were often accompanied by handouts that I could take home and color with pictures of Jesus telling stories to children seated all around him.  I also learned songs that I would sing ad naseum in the car on the way home such as ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and ‘Jesus Loves the Little Children.’As a child I knew Jesus to be my buddy and as long as I had these Bible stories, songs, and coloring sheets, Jesus was with me wherever I went.

As I grew older, my dad encouraged me to leave the coloring activity sheets behind and begin to listen to what our pastor was preaching in church, something that I wasn’t thrilled about because I didn’t understand the message he was articulating.  I didn’t yet have the vocabulary and experience to grasp concepts such as ‘sin,’‘atonement,’ and ‘repentance.’  It would take a while for me to gain an understanding of this adult expression of God, one that seemed so complex and at times frightening.  What did resonate with me was when the pastor gave what was called an “altar call.”  After the sermon and before the final hymn, he would invite anyone who wanted a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to come forward and stand with him as a public profession of that desire which was the next step in the journey of faith.  I think I was eleven when I made my way to the front to proclaim what I already knew in my heart:  that Jesus and I had had a personal relationship since before I could remember.  I always looked forward to that moment in the service to see who else might come to be friends with Jesus the way I was.  I imagine it is with a youthful twinkle in his eye that Fr. Benson once wrote:  “If we are to have Jesus our friend, we must know Him to be continually near.  The companionship of Jesus!   It is strange how many there are who look forward to being with Him in another world, but never think of living fellowship with him here.”[i] Read More