“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. – John 15:26-27
But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate[a] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about[b] sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. – John 16:4-15
In Eugene Peterson’s The Message (the Bible in contemporary language), he refers to the Holy Spirit in these passages as our Friend. In fact, a heading that summarizes 16:4-15 reads, The Friend Will Come. Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit as your friend? I don’t often use that descriptive term, but the more I think about it, the more comfortable it feels for me.
Jesus reminds his disciples “when the friend comes, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself but will make sense out of all that I’ve done and said.”
I am once again reminded that I need to know Jesus as I know my best friend. Having Jesus as my best friend, I should want to spend time with him, have coffee with him, take walks with him, talk to him, and want to catch up with him.
Think about a true friendship that you have with someone. In a true friendship, you respect what the other person has to say. You go to that person for advice. That other person knows what makes you happy and you have a level of trust like no other – because neither one of you has ever violated that trust. Finally, I’m never too busy to find time for that earthly friend and so I am convicted that I should never be too busy to spend time with my very best friend, Jesus.
As I reflect on this passage this week, I am once again ever grateful to God for giving me the Holy Spirit to be my much-needed counselor, comforter, helper, and friend…. Forever.