He lives, my kind, wise heav’nly friend” (Samuel Medley, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”). Kindness and wisdom are most likely two of the most important attributes we could have in a friend. As our friend, Jesus Christ is both kind enough to hear our complaints about all of our (often self-inflicted) problems with enough empathy and understanding to not condemn us but He is also wise enough to understand the precise moment when it is time to switch from tender mercies to tough love and tell us to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and go and sin no more. Jesus Christ is the perfect friend because He can see us as we truly are, without all of the deceptions and delusions, and He still loves us and wants to spend time with us despite our flaws and failures and He genuinely believes that we can do and become better and He has the exact steps we need to take to realize our full potential. As we seek to develop our friendship with our Savior, His kindness and His wisdom will start to rub off on us, which in turn will make us kinder and wiser in all of our friendships. I am so grateful that the kindest and wisest of all of God's children has chosen to be my friend and I hope that we can all learn to treasure our friendship with our Savior Jesus Christ a little more each day.
