In his early years, he lived in a Jewish community.
He was known and respected by the people around him. He worked hard in his father’s business, went to church with his family and friends, attended the weddings, bar mitzvahs, and funerals of those he cared about. Oldest of his siblings, he took care of his family.
He has always been known as a good man.
When I was young, I daydreamed that someone cool and important would notice me and call me friend. Joshua doesn’t seem to mind my lack of social grace or my anxieties. He lends a nonjudgmental hand when I’ve tripped and fallen over my own silly self. He has seen the worst of me and calls me his friend anyway. In my childhood, I could never have imagined having a friend like him.
Joshua has a brand of kindness and grace that I’ve never found anywhere else. He is generous in his compassion for the problems and difficulties people find themselves in. He just wants people to know that he cares and that he is there to help. No strings attached.
You may have guessed already that you have likely encountered Joshua ben Joseph before. He is better known by the Greek version of his name. His name is Jesus. He is not a long dead, distant founder of a religion. He is the One who breathed His breath into our lungs and set the planets in the sky.
And He knows my name and calls me friend.
What a glorious honor!
“I don’t call you servants any longer; servants don’t know what the Master is doing, but I have told you everything the Father has said to me. I call you friends” (John 15:15 The Voice).
All content is Copyright 2020 TA Boland
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