Livin Lively

By Peggy Lively  

            As I was going through my children’s “Friday folders” this past weekend, I came across something that really blessed me.

            Having four children, I have to be very selective about what I decide to keep from school and what I throw away. Otherwise, all their papers would literally take over our house. (I know I can’t be the only mom that hides papers in the trash can, and then has to come up with some kind of explanation when they are discovered there.)

            So as I was going through my eight year old daughter’s papers, I read a handout from her teacher saying that the students were bringing home their “Poetry Writing Units.” Stapled to the back of this handout were thirty pages of poems that my daughter had written. I glanced at the first few which were titled, “Hot,” “Spring,” and “Pig.” Then I laid it down in my trash pile. As soon as I did though, I thought maybe I should at least look through all of them to see if I wanted to keep some of them. And that’s when I found the blessing.

            I noticed one of her poems that was titled, “My Best Friend,” and this is what it said: 

My Best Friend

He lives

Up in Heaven

He died

On the

Cross

For

Us

He is a

Miracle Maker

He makes it

Rain and snow

He died for us so

That is

Why he is

My best

Friend! 

            After I dried the tears from my eyes, I thanked God for her precious heart and thanked Him that I didn’t miss out on this blessing.

            Do you know Jesus like this? Is He your best friend? He died on the cross for you. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15)

            Jesus didn’t die for us because we were such a great friend. The Bible says “that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:8-9)

            We were powerless, ungodly, sinners when Christ died for us. That is what makes His love so amazing! You will never find a friend who loves you more than this. That’s what makes Him our best friend.

 “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies… How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 36:5 and 7)