SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH DEVOTIONAL FOR CHILDREN: “Being A Friend Is A Blessing”

*DAILY BREAD: A DEVOTIONAL FOR THE CHILDREN*

Eastern Nigeria Union Conference Children’s Ministries Department

*THEME: I WILL GO*

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

*Topic: Being a friend is a blessing.*

_Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. 1 Samuel 20:42_

The story of David and Jonathan is one of great friendship. Jonathan went to great lengths to protect David from his father Saul, and David looked after Jonathan’s children long after he was dead. Great friends do those kinds of things for each other. In John 15:13, Jesus tells his disciples that there is no greater love than that of someone who is willing to die for a friend. You probably won’t be called on to give up your life for your friends, but a big part of friendship is putting your friends’ needs before your own.

The best part of John 15:13 is that Jesus did exactly that for us. He laid down his life for us. That is how far he went for his love and friendship for us.

Good friends are one of God’s greatest gifts. Not one of us is meant to go through life alone and without help. God longs to use us as his hands and feet to those he has placed in our midst. He longs to make you a friend as he is a friend to us, in order to bless others and extend the reach of his kingdom.

God longs to transform you into a friend who loves others unconditionally. It’s in the hard times that we most need our friends. Yet in the hard times, many friends abandon us for relationships that require less of them. The heart of God is to stick with us through trials, sin, and bad decisions. He never leaves us or forsakes us, and he longs to make us like him. He longs to make us friends that will love through every season of life. He longs to empower us to love, serve, honor, and bless those he has intentionally given us.
God is calling you to love your friends “at all times.” He is calling you to a lifestyle of service and grace. What friend of yours needs your help right now? Who can you choose to serve over yourself? What friend is God calling you to love with the love he has shown you today?

1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” May you exhibit the heart of your heavenly Father to your friends by loving them as he has loved you.

*Song*
I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine,
Forever and forever.

*Prayer*
Loving Heavenly Father, I thank you for blessing me with good things in life. Today, I seek your grace to become a trustworthy and a helpful friend. Give me eyes to see others and their needs and to take the time to listen. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.