friend? How would you define what a friend is? Are you happy with the friends you have? Do you wish

you had more friends or different kinds of friends? That your friendships were healthier or more

helpful?

People might define friends in various ways, but one thing is certain. God designed people with a need

for friendship. When he created the first man, he offered this observation: “It is not good for the man to

be alone” (Genesis 2:18). We naturally feel the need that God observed, but faithful friends might be

hard to come by.

In the internet world, friends often call each other BFF’s—Best Friends Forever. But those same friends

often turn on each other and end up more as enemies than as friends. No matter how well someone

knows and likes you, there really is no friend who knows all about you. Your innermost secrets remain

locked within you, and there are deeper feelings than anyone could ever understand.

God wants you to know what you might have suspected all along. He does know all about you. He

observes that you need someone to whom you can pour out your heart, and he is willing to be that one.

But do you want God to be a BFF, when deep down you know what he knows about you? As his own

Word says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). Few of us would make

such a claim, but the good news is that God still wants to claim us as friends, despite our shortcomings.

That is why Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came into the world long ago. He came to do what only the best of

friends would do—he came to lay down his life for you. He came to stand in for you and take whatever

punishment God’s justice demanded for your sins. And God accepted his own Son’s sacrifice to wipe out

the guilt of your sin.

That is why God invites you to see him as your best friend. He knows all about you and everything that

you need. He extends his love to you without conditions, for the sake of his Son’s death on the cross.

You will not find a more faithful friend than God. Look to the living God and learn more about his

faithfulness and love. The more you learn, the more you will find that he is a true Friend that you can

always trust.