You've Got a Friend
Scripture Reading: Luke 11:5-10
I’ve been a long-time fan of James Taylor’s music. One of his past hits was his rendition of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” The chorus, with variation throughout the song, goes like this:
“You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am,
I’ll come running…
Winter, spring, summer, or fall
All you got to do is call,
And I’ll be there…
You’ve got a friend…
It’s a comforting song. It was popular because it expressed a sentiment that people wanted to believe was true, either about themselves being that friend or having that kind of a friend. We all want a friend. Someone once told me, and I think they were right, that a person only has just a small number of true friends in life. We might have a lot of acquaintances, but very few friends, people we can count on to “come running; winter, spring, summer, or fall…”
What a wonderful thing it is, then, that in this parable Jesus pictures God as our friend. Leave aside the way He describes this Friend’s reluctance to get out of bed and give his friend bread (there is a point about persistence being made there). Don’t let that obscure the fact that Jesus is saying that when we approach our Father in prayer, we are coming before Someone who is our Friend!
