“If you walk in front of me, I may not follow;
If you walk behind me, I may not lead;
Walk beside me, and be my friend.” (unknown)
Christmas - the realization of biblical Old Testament prophecies which foretold that God would come to us in human form. He was born to die, but He would rise again, and His resurrection ensures that He is available to us as our God, our Savior, our Shepherd, our Guide, our Advocate, but also as our friend – God with us.
Yes, Jesus goes before us: “I will go before you and level the mountains…” (Isaiah 42:12). He goes behind us: “You hem me in, behind and before…” (Psalm 139:5). He is a protective shield around us. However, perhaps the richest experience we can know is to have Jesus as our friend.
A friendship with their Lord was the experience of my parents as they toiled to make a living on a small farm in west Michigan (present-day Country Dairy). God was in the soil they plowed, watered and weeded. Daily walking and talking with Him resulted in an intimate mutual friendship (as told in the memoir, "In the Garden").
Have we become so used to “away in a manger, no crib for a bed,” that we’ve forgotten the enormity of the fact that He came to us? Did we go seeking Him, as a babe, in the lowliest of birthplaces, in a trough where pigs, goats and cattle fed and drank?
But of course, Jesus would come to earth in a manger. In the book "Gentle and Lowly," Dane Ortland notes that there is one and only one place in scripture where Jesus divulges who he is: “…Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart…” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus’ use of the word “heart” does not refer to one’s emotional life, but to the central animating force of who we are and all we do. When Jesus tells us what animates Him most deeply, what is most true of Him, He’s telling us that He is “gentle and lowly.”
Thinking of Jesus as a friend does not, in any way, detract from His holiness, His majesty, His Lordship, His divinity. Yet, if we think of our Lord only in those terms, we set Him apart from us and shut ourselves off from perhaps the most significant aspect of His nature. He came to us in a lowly manger. He tells us that He is gentle and lowly. He invites us to “knock at His door,” inviting us to be in relationship, in friendship with Him.
Think of the best friend you have – someone you can trust, share your innermost thoughts with, someone who won’t judge you, but will listen and seek to understand. That friendship is but a glimmer of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” (hymn lyrics by Joseph Scriven).
Ortland cautions us not to overly domesticate Jesus. He is not just any friend, but neither should we diminish His sheer desire for a relationship with those He loves – the gentle and lowly.
Accepting Jesus’ invitation to “knock at the door” - to friendship, is captured eloquently by C.S. Lewis in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Lucy is about to meet Aslan, the symbol of Christ:
“Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn't safe?” said Lucy.
"Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
“I'm longing to see him,” said Peter, “even if I do feel frightened.”
The most momentous aspect of friendship with Jesus is that it is mutual. As hard as it is to comprehend, He seeks our company, our affection and our connection. It gives Him pleasure to walk with us on our earthly pilgrimage, as He did with the disciples of old.
“…I have called you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have shared with you.” (John 15:14)
As you adore and worship the Babe born in a manger, make sure you don’t miss the most extraordinary meaning of Christmas: God with us.
