By Jim Golden

Proverbs 27: 6 declares, ”Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”  At first glance and in the context of the entire chapter it looks as though in order to be a faithful friend you must wound, at least emotionally, your friends.  The previous verse seems only to support this.  “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.”  For many years, as a Pastor I would use such verses to justify and support my role of keeping the “flock” on the straight & narrow path.  I will try and share in a few words what it took the Holy Spirit of God years to reveal to me.  To say the least it has had a deep effect on my life and changed the way I interpret much of Scripture.

The first thing that God showed me was that in the New Covenant Jesus declares that we are no longer just servants, but friends.  He actually refers to Himself as our Friend, a highly under publicized or declared manifestation of His nature.  In the Greek text every noun has a verb associated with it and vise-versa.  The word Jesus uses when he calls His disciples friends is a noun.  The verb associated is the action, which is applied to the object.  Literally Jesus is saying that we are the objects of His affection.  Think about that for a moment and let its sweet savor overtake and overcome you.  You, me, all those who have made Jesus their Lord have become the object upon which He pours all His affection, not just His agapé love, but His affection.  He likes you and me with fond, intense affection.

The next thing that God began to show me was in Isaiah 53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (NIV).  At this point the Lord softly and simply said the words from Proverbs to me, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”  He went on to remind me what His wounds were meant to accomplish and that no matter what life brought my way His wounds were faithful to heal me, spirit, soul and body. 

Needless to say my approach to the way I addressed perceived needs in those I was Pastoring changed drastically.  Paul’s quote to the Ephesians about speaking the truth in love no longer held the same meaning.  God began to reveal to me that I should be declaring what He says about us is true .  We have been born from above and that is what counts, that alone has the power to transform our lives.  Agreeing with God is a powerful thing to do.  It frees the Holy Spirit to activate His word.  Things are not always what they appear to be outwardly.  God is at work within us, transforming us, and He will complete the work that He has begun.  Faithful are the wounds of our Friend, our God and our Redeemer — Jesus Christ!  They will accomplish what they were meant to accomplish.

To read a more in-depth treatment of this subject see the article Friendship — Tthe Tie That Binds!

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