Seeing how Easter Sunday is just a few days away, reading from Matthew 26 today,
"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Matthew 26:36-38 (NIV)
Jesus is about to endure something that we can't even begin to imagine. Not just the physical pain, but separation from his Father and taking on the sins of the world.
It's so easy to overlook this simple example of the Lord in the wake of what we know is coming. But it struck me today, Jesus is about to go through something... and he simply wants his friends nearby.
He has taken three years to cultivate this friendship. In fact, earlier that evening Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends," John 15:15 (NIV)
Life can be busy, and days can become weeks, can become months and then years. Friendship takes time to cultivate, time to grow. There is no fast track to it.
Who do you have in your life you can call a friend? If there is someone, take a moment to be thankful for them. If there is not, perhaps take some time to pray about why? Perhaps it is simply time to make it a priority and put yourself out there again.
We all need friends.
