Gentle and Lowly, Chapter 12 - “A Tender Friend”

This reflection is by Visio Dei member Neila Pippins.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.  

What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.

 I remember this being one of my dad’s favorite songs. He would hum it while he worked around the house and sing it at church with so much feeling.  I didn’t understand it when I was little. To me, a friend was someone you played and laughed with and did things with. Someone you could see and feel who liked the same things you did.  

In my teen years, I began to learn there was more to being a ‘friend’ than just having fun together.  My best friend Linda and I could talk for hours about everything from hair styles to boys to school activities to boys to…well, you get the picture. But sometimes we shared deeper things like our hopes, dreams, and fears. We were comfortable with each other and were sometimes content just to be together. But as close as we were— and still are—there were always some feelings or thoughts I didn’t share. Perhaps it was from embarrassment or shame, like the time I stole a candy bar from Susie’s backpack in the 4th grade.  Some things we just want to hide because, as much as we may trust and love someone, they are human and therefore they may not really understand. They may think less of us, may even leave us.

It took many years of walking with Jesus— falling down, getting back up, and accepting the hand of forgiveness and grace that was always there for me—to realize that he is a friend that doesn’t change. He can’t and He won’t.  The love H e had for me when He went to the cross is the same love that poured out when I accepted Him. It was the same love that forgave me when I felt guilty and returned the candy bar I took.  The same love that forgives me each time I mess up and blow it. He looks at me with the same love because that’s His heart.  He feels my fear, my pain, and my embarrassment when I’m hurt or when others point out my flaws. But.as the perfect friend, His love is steadfast. He doesn’t shake His head in disgust and walk away.  I don’t even have to tell Him my thoughts, for He already knows them…even the ones I try to hide.  That’s why He is a friend like no other. Matthew 11 says he is a “friend of tax collectors and sinners.” We all fall into that category, and He’s drawn to those who need him most.  It’s why he came, why he loves with such a tender heart. It’s not just that He is a friend who listens when we pour out our hearts, but He is the only one who can bear our burdens.  Like Dane Ortlund said in this chapter, Jesus is a constant, never-failing friend who wants to walk this journey with us.

We need friends on this earth. We were made for companionship.  But friends often come and go; they may only be in our lives for a season, then separated from us by time, distance, or death.  Jesus is a friend who will always be here with us. He will not fail us, abandon us, or betray us. His tender heart will always be there to pour out His love to us. Not just for a season, but for eternity.