A Friend For Eternity

"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" Luke 22:31,32

As we have grown up, we've all had friends, best friends, who we thought would stick by us to the very end no matter what. I've had five or six in the 62 years I've been alive and maybe two or three are still there and haven't deserted or turned their backs on me for one reason or another. The others I would like to think I would hold up my end of the deal for regardless of how they have stuck, or not, with me, but I have my doubts.

When you look at this passage from Luke, remember...Peter was one of Jesus' closest disciples. He was the rock. Jesus knows, however, as we read in the verses that follow, that he will deny Him three times, vehemently in the end. For the man part of Jesus (fully God and fully man) this had to be an almost heart breaking denial, but what did Jesus do? He prayed to His Father, Almighty God, that his faith would, ultimately, not fail and that he would return to Jesus and bring strength to the Brotherhood, which we see come to fruition.

That is a friend no matter what. We know Jesus as a Savior to all who believe in Him, but this, to me, reveals Jesus as that Savior and the friend we all sang about as kids and taught our kids to sing...,"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

I note a change, if temporarily, in their relationship. Simon was his given name. Jesus had changed his name to Peter , the rock. At this point, the rock was not going to be there, but Jesus prayed for him and the rock would return and strengthen the brethren who would take the Gospel to the world.

Jesus, an eternal friend, no matter what. He knows your heart. Maybe we should take the heart of our friends into consideration when we feel neglected or abandoned and pray for them, that they may return to us in the future.

This verse has always given me hope. I know I am not always what my Savior expects of me, but I know He is praying for me and I do always seem to return, sometimes a little worse for the wear, but that is my own fault. Without my eternal friend's prayers, I would still be wandering in the eternal darkness! 

Thank you, Jesus!