It is not an enemy who taunts me—
I could bear that.
It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—
I could have hidden from them.Instead, it is you—my equal,
my companion and close friend.What good fellowship we once enjoyed
as we walked together to the house of GodPsalm 55:12-14
To read today’s portion of scripture, you can purchase The One Year Bible (paid link) or find the following in your Bible:
Numbers 16:41-18:32
Mark 16:1-20
Psalm 55:1-23
Proverbs 11:7
Is there anything more painful than the betrayal of a friend? When I think of the kiss Judas laid on the cheek of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, I imagine the pain Jesus felt being multiplied by a factor of 100. How can someone who has walked with you in close companionship cut you to the heart?
The sting is not so great when the arrow-shooter is a stranger. We expect grace-less jabs from those who don’t know us—not from those who do.
If you’ve been hurt by a person who you consider a friend, be comforted by the knowledge that Jesus went there before you. The kiss He received from Judas was a stinging slap, just as the kisses we receive bring with them pain when delivered by one we thought to be an ally, but who in reality does not love us; does not have our best interest in mind.
Those are encouragements for when you’re on the receiving end of such kisses. Be sure you’re never the one to give them.
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One of my daughters is a youth leader in a church in down in Centralia, WA. And my other daughter is a teacher in a private school in Olympia. This one I’m sharing with them to share with their kids. But it sure is a good reminder for us oldies, too.
I love that, Liza!