“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:12-14

There is no friend we could have who is like Jesus. But being His friend is not about going on vacation with Jesus; hanging out with him at our favorite restaurant or having Him over for Thanksgiving. Being the friend of the man of the cross means taking up ours and following him. It means loving one another and standing by them even in the face of danger. The deeper the waters we pass through with Him, the more we learn to lay down our lives; the closer our heart comes to His.