In 1996 I had a good buddy prove his friendship to me.
He and I were supposed to meet at my job after my shift and go out. When I clocked out, I didn’t see him anywhere, so I got into my car, and to my surprise, my stereo was missing. I had been ripped off!
I drove to my buddies house to see if he was there. As I was leaving, he pulled up in his car and got out with a cigarette hanging from his lip. I thought he was squinting from the cigarette smoke but as he got closer it was clear he had the fattest black eye I think I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t squinting, his eye was swelled shut.
In his hands, he had my car stereo. He tossed it to me and explained how he had come to meet me after work, but saw a guy digging in my car. He approached him and asked what he was doing and the guy ran off with my stereo. He chased him down the road and after a few blocks the guy turned around, punched him in the face and dropped the radio.
My buddy took a punch for me!
If I ever doubted his friendship before that day, after that event, I knew his friendship was real. I really appreciated what he did for me.
Many people doubt God’s love for them. Even Christians sometimes experience times of doubt or discouragement, and wonder if God still loves them.
The Bibles teaches us that God proved His love for us, He showed His love for you and me when Jesus went to the cross.
Jesus taught that “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Then he proved that He loved you and me in this greatest of ways.
Romans 5 says “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus took the ultimate hit for you and me. If there was any doubt of His love before that, surely, after seeing His love displayed at the cross, all doubt should be removed from your mind. We return His love with unwavering devotion.
He’s the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
Be assured, He loves you today.
Now go out and tell others about it!