Who’s Ur Bff?

     I’ve tried to keep up with the language of the younger generation.  But text messaging has brought with it a whole new set of cryptic abbreviations.

     For instance, when two students are good friends one may text the other, “Ur my bff!”

     Now what in the world does that mean?  You only need to ask a teenager to find out.  It means, “You’re my Best Friend Forever!”

     We all need friends.  But experts tell us there’s a disturbing trend taking place. In the American Sociological Review, researchers cited evidence Americans have a third fewer close friends than twenty years ago.

     Even more disturbing, the data indicates the number of people who have no close personal friends has more than doubled. Even in families, intimacy has diminished considerably.

     As a result, many people feel lonelier and more isolated than ever.  We long to be appreciated and loved for who we are.

     Collier’s Magazine once published a story about a little girl in an orphanage.  The other children avoided her and the staff disliked her.  For some time they suspected she was writing secret notes to people outside of the orphanage.

     One day their suspicions were confirmed. Another orphan reported seeing her write a note and hide it on a tree near a stone wall. The director hurried to the tree and found the note.  Then he passed it silently to his assistant.  The note read: “To whoever finds this: I love you.”

     She wanted a friend.  More than that, she needed a bff.  Someone who would never leave her.

     But where can you find a bff?  Where can you find true friendship?  Look in your Bible.

     “Now hold on just a minute!” you say.  “Why do you always head for the Bible?”

     Because the Bible holds the answer for many of the difficult problems of Life.  And the truth is, Jesus Christ wants to be your bff–your best friend forever.

     Jesus was speaking to his followers when he said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.” Then he says, “I have called you friends.”  He adds, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 

     With those words Jesus predicted why he would die.  He knew that “the wages of sin is death.”  And that the only way to free us from sin’s penalty was for him to die in our place.

     Jesus wants to be your bff–best friend forever. Will you accept his offer of friendship today?

     After a person hears the good news about Christ they must decide:  “Am I willing to give up trying to earn God’s favor and stop working for my salvation?  Am I willing to accept the gift of forgiveness God offers to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ?”

     If you say, “Yes,” then you’re ready to give yourself to Christ. To believe and trust in God.  To become part of his forever family.  So if you will say to God, “Father, accept me and adopt me, not because of what I’ve done but because of what Jesus Christ did for me in dying on the cross”–if you will do that, then the Bible says you become a child of God. At that very moment.

     Sooner or later, people fail us.  Religious.  Nonreligious.  Even the most dependable friends can fail us.  But Jesus never will.  He promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  And he alone can keep that promise because, in his resurrection, he conquered death.

     The Bible is like Jesus’ note to you that says, “To whoever finds this: I love you.”  You’ll never find another friend like Jesus Christ because he truly can be your bff–best friend forever!

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!