A Friend Who Sticks Closer

In spite of all its buzzing activity, Christmas can be one of the loneliest times of the year for some of us. Today, Sinclair Ferguson recalls a touching memory that conveys the nearness of Christ to His people.

This week in the run-up to Christmas, we’ve been reflecting on a simple biblical principle that’s actually applicable to the whole of life, but especially to this frenetic season of the year, the principle that what we need in Jesus Christ is the expulsive power of a new affection for Him. I was thinking that this is true for us also if Christmas is a lonely time for us, and it sometimes is that, even when we’re surrounded by other people. Perhaps some of us feel that the words of Lamentations 1:12 are our words, too: “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,” because this Christmas we have a special personal burden that nobody around us really shares. Perhaps if you’ve had some special loss this year, you may well feel that while the rest of the world seems to have moved on, you are left on your own. But whatever our situation—anxious and burdened, sad, or excited and full of eager anticipation—what we all need is a new affection for the Lord Jesus, and that’s not something we can work up. Only the Lord Jesus Himself can give us that new affection through His Holy Spirit. It needs to come from the outside to the inside and not the other way around.

I very rarely mention my family in public. It’s a no-go area for us, and especially for me, especially if any of the family are present. They would give me a very hard time. And I learned this lesson on one occasion when I said to our congregation that one of our children had done something, and then I added, “I won’t tell you which one she is.” I have three sons and only one daughter. I never made the same mistake again. But I think I’m safe in telling you this story from our family history.

It was Christmas season, and in the Sunday school classes in church, the children were making Christmas cards for their moms and dads. And one of our young sons came home and cheerfully handed his creation to us. It was the statutory stable scene, and inside, a carefully chosen Bible verse. And our son had come up with a text that was just a little different for Christmas. We opened the card to find stretched across the inside the words from Proverbs 18:24, in bold letters: “There are friends who pretend to be friends.” You’ll remember how the verse ends, but when we saw only those words on the card, it almost felt as though he was exposing us as pretend friends. But then he added in smaller letters, the words, “But there is a friend,” followed by a whole series of dots that ran to the edge of the card and left us anticipating what might be on the back of it. And after a moment of puzzlement, we turned over the page to find the conclusion of the matter: “There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend . . .” and on the back, the single word, “Jesus.”

We smiled with a toothful joy, partly at the sheer imagination of our little boy making use of a relatively obscure text in Scripture at Christmastime, but largely because of the message itself. I don’t know how much he knew as a little boy about seeing how the Old Testament points to Christ, but he’d certainly nailed it there, hadn’t he? Yes, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and yes, His name is the name that He was given from his birth, Jesus, because He’ll save His people from their sins. I still think about that Christmas card and the emotions that were encapsulated for me in just a few seconds. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, Jesus, and it’s knowing this that leads to the expulsive power of a new affection.

I know that’s a trivial story, and I know family stories can mean a lot to us when they mean almost nothing to anybody else, but I think this thought might help some of us this year. It might contribute to dispelling the gloom or the sense of loneliness we feel at Christmastime for whatever reason. So, here is an audible Christmas card: It’s got a stable scene on the front. It’s got unusual wording inside, and you read, “There are friends who pretend to be friends,” and that’s for sure, and perhaps you feel it keenly, but read on: “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Is that it? Well, not quite. You need to turn the page because on the back page of my card, you will find this one word, this one name: Jesus. He is the expulsive power in your life of a new affection that will dispel loneliness, even if you’re on your own. And I pray that that will be true for all of us today.