IN FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST – El Diario
No matter how much you live and experience, you will not reach the depths of youth, you will not know the true fullness of being young, if you do not meet your great friend every day, if you do not live in friendship with Jesus. Friendship is a gift of life and a gift from God. Through friends the Lord polishes us and matures us. At the same time, faithful friends, who are by our side in difficult times, are a reflection of the Lord’s affection, his comfort, and his kind presence. Having friends teaches us to open up, to understand, to care for others, to get out of our comfort and isolation, to share life. That is why “a faithful friend is priceless” (Si 6,15).
Friendship is not a fleeting or passing relationship, but rather a stable, firm, faithful one that matures over time. It is a relationship of affection that makes us feel united, and at the same time it is a generous love, which leads us to seek the good of our friend. Although friends can be very different from each other, there are always some things in common that lead them to feel close, and there is an intimacy that is shared with sincerity and trust.
Friendship is so important that Jesus himself presents himself as a friend: “I no longer call you servants, I call you friends” (Jn 15:15). By the grace that He gives us, we are elevated in such a way that we are truly His friends. With the same love that He pours into us we can love Him, bringing His love to others, with the hope that they too will find their place in the community of friendship founded by Jesus Christ.[80]. And although He is already completely happy after being resurrected, it is possible to be generous with Him, helping him to build his Kingdom in this world, being his instruments to bring his message and his light and, above all, his love to others (cf. Jn 15,16). The disciples heard Jesus’ call to friendship with Him. It was an invitation that did not force them, but rather delicately proposed their freedom: “Come and see,” he told them, and “they went, saw where he lived and stayed with him.” He that day” (Jn 1:39). After that intimate and unexpected meeting, they left everything and went with Him.
Friendship with Jesus is unbreakable. He never leaves, although sometimes it seems that he is silent. When we need him he allows himself to be found by us (cf. Jr 29:14) and he is at our side wherever we go (cf. Jos 1:9). Because He never breaks an alliance. He asks us not to abandon him: “Remain united to me” (Jn 15:4). But if we walk away, “He remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:13).
We talk with our friend, we share the most secret things. We also talked with Jesus. Prayer is a challenge and an adventure. And what an adventure! Allow us to know it better and better, enter its thickness and grow in an ever stronger union. Prayer allows us to tell him everything that happens to us and remain confident in his arms, and at the same time it gives us moments of precious intimacy and affection, where Jesus pours out his own life into us. By praying “we open the game” to Him, we give Him room “so that He can act and can enter and can win”[81]. Source: Christus vivit, friendship is a great gift from God
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