Proverbs 6:1My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
The worst torment I can think of would be as a parent if one of your children was taken by a stranger. The other day I was at the store. I was dressed in bibs and certainly didn’t look like a preacher. I came upon a kid who just reached up for me to pick him up. I knelt down to talk to him and then I heard his mother say roughly “you get away from him!” She was talking to me. I told her who I was and believe it or not she had heard of me. I told her she did the right thing in trying to protect her child. Kids don’t know a stranger; they trust people.
There is a lesson here in Proverbs. As long as we’re here, the stranger will come our way just like the pervert whose intent is to kidnap a kid. We have a Savior who is our shepherd and friend. A friend tells you the truth about yourself and you can do the same with him. As Christians we have a friend; no friend is better than Jesus. Even before we were saved he was our friend; we just didn’t treat him that way.
When I was young I enjoyed my friends but now they are more and more like strangers. Jesus is our true friend. We have a ways to go in following the Lord as we should but we know his voice. The Bible says he’s our shepherd and we know his voice and won’t follow a stranger. The stranger is there and wants to take us just like the stranger who wants to take that kid in a store. Jesus is the door to heaven but the stranger offers a back door that doesn’t exist. He’ll try to talk you into walking away. Jesus said we are his friends if we do what he commands.
The stranger is the devil. It’s one thing to know about someone and another to be acquainted with them. We need to be acquainted with Jesus. Remember the devil comes in many forms to entice us. Many people call out to be our friends. The prodigal had friends as long as he had money. You cannot win paying heed to the devil. Keep Jesus as your friend; don’t let him become a stranger to you. Talk to him every day. You stay in touch with other friends to develop those relationships. We need to do the same with Jesus. He went all the way for us. He died for everyone, the good moral person as well as the wicked.
When he was arrested his friends ran and hid. As he hung on the cross he said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He offered himself with his hands outstretched. His hand transforms us and turns aliens—us—into friends. He’s willing to save. He reaches out to us each day. It’s a hand of fellowship and friendship. We feel him every day. We know he’s there. Don’t become a stranger to him. Hang on tight. When he saved us he reached down and lifted us up. Never doubt this friend. He will not fail or betray you. If we don’t talk to him or if we back off from the Word of God we risk being influenced by the stranger. We’re too far down the road to walk away from our friend. Ignore the devil. He’ll never be a friend. He’s headed straight to the lake of fire.
Let Jesus be your friend. Proverbs 18:24 says a man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Jesus is reaching his hand to us today for a fresh drawing to him. Take hold of it.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 