While many anticipate joining family and friends for year-end festivities, for others the holidays may magnify feelings of sadness or isolation.
But I’ve found that the light of Christ – the eternal message of divine Love, God, that Jesus exemplified – can chase away dark shadows and help us delight in the presence of God, our best friend.
It might seem odd to think of God as a friend when our relation to God isn’t the usual person-to-person connection that friendship evokes. But considering a friend as one with whom we have mutual affection, we can think of God as our most faithful friend.
That’s because God is infinite Love. As the children of God – entirely spiritual, created in His image – we are made to eternally experience and reflect God’s love. Though human relationships may hint at that love, they can be fragile or fleeting. With divine Love, we have a constant, unbreakable bond.
The Bible is full of examples of this. Patriarchs and matriarchs, judges and kings, psalmists and prophets, shepherds and parents, confided in and walked with God, so to speak, as a friend does with a friend. Humble devotion, guidance, love, and blessings – all elements we cherish in healthy relationships – demonstrated this deep connection to God.
For instance, a psalmist rejoiced in his relationship with God, saying, “You lead me in the path of life. I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight” (Psalms 16:11, New English Translation).
Certainly, the most profound example of closeness to God is found in the life of Jesus, who affirmed, “Thou hearest me always” (John 11:42). As the Son of God and best exemplar of God’s love for all, Christ Jesus understood the constancy and ever-presence of divine Love, who always meets our needs. Jesus’ life and healing works exemplified the unbreakable unity and mutual affection not only between God and himself, but also between God and us – the sons and daughters of God.
The spiritual fact of everyone’s indissoluble relation to Love was the foundation of the Christ-power through which Jesus healed. And this same Christ-power is still with us today to heal and bless.
The first Christmas after my husband passed on, I was in a dark mental place. Despite all the love and attention poured on me during my visit with family, I still felt deeply alone.
At one point, I remembered a hymn in the “Christian Science Hymnal” that begins,
O Lord, I would delight in Thee,
And on Thy care depend;
To Thee in every trouble flee,
My best, my ever Friend.
When all material streams are dried,
Thy fullness is the same;
May I with this be satisfied,
And glory in Thy name.
(John Ryland, No. 224)
I had never thought of God as a friend before. I was far from home, and it was the middle of the night, when everyone else I knew was likely asleep. But I realized that God companions us at every moment – no matter where we are or how alone we may feel. As God’s spiritual reflection, we can never be separated from His limitless love.
With that realization I felt a conviction that right there and then I could pray to God, and those prayers would be heard. In fact, I suddenly felt heard. And companioned. And loved. I knew that I would never, could never, be truly alone because God, divine Love, is always with us.
Today, I remember that Christmas not for the grief and loneliness that characterized it at first, but for the great gift of discovering God as my eternal companion and best friend.
The Bible says, “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight” (Jeremiah 9:24). Divine Love is the light that chases away darkness, because there is no darkness in infinite Love; the peace that brings order to chaos, because in Love there can be only harmony; our defender against fear, whose tender presence brings healing strength when we feel alone. As our dearest friend, Love delights in caring for us.
The Christian Science Monitor’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote, “Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon its object” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 248).
The halo of God’s love is the light of Christ that rests on us, enveloping us in hope, peace, and joy. We are never alone. This Christmas and all year round, may we all experience the full joy and delight that comes from knowing God as our very best friend.
