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Betrayed by a Friend By Robert Berendt Betrayal is never easy to come to terms with, especially when it comes from those we trust and love. Are we at risk of betraying anyone?
ne of the best-known stories in the Bible is that of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus Christ. Jesus was destined to suffer and die, and there was a prophecy that He would be betrayed (Psalm 41:9). That Judas planned ahead of time is evidenced by his going to the priests seeking the thirty silver coins for his deed (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 26:14,15).
We humans experience many problems in life -- and for that reason, we seek those we can trust to support and stand by us. When we find such a person, we slowly let down our guard and, in time, there are few areas of life that we will not share. We reveal that which lies deep in our hearts and we become vulnerable because of the revelation of our weaknesses. A friend is someone who stands by us in times of weakness or need (Proverbs 17:17). They are there to laugh with us when we are happy and cry with us when we are sad. We may expect danger from various places, but not from a friend. That is why the betrayal of this sort is the worst. Family members are perhaps those we trust the most. One of the people we grow closest to in our lives is our spouse. We have a deep love for our children, but we realize they have to live their own lives. Our mate is the one we expect to be closest to -- until death do us part. We expect even the closest person in our lives to die eventually, but as painful as that is, it is not betrayal. "Et tu, Brute?" William Shakespeare captured the essence of the betrayal we feel in his play Julius Caesar. In the famous scene where his fellow senators stabbed Caesar to death, the final and most unkind cut came from his friend. "Et tu, Brute?" said Caesar. "Then fall, Caesar!" It is as though that was the sword cut that caused his death. In the funeral oratory by Mark Antony, Shakespeare called it "the most unkindest cut of all." Shakespeare grasped the additional pain that betrayal by a friend brings.
Satan and the demons take note of us -- and Satan tries with all of his might to devour us. (1 Peter 5:8). One strong example of God's trust is found in the book of Job. He knew from Job's pattern of obedience that He would be faithful; God judged Job's heart and knew that He would be faithful. Before all the angels of heaven, God proclaimed to Satan that in spite of Satan's attacks on Job, Job had not betrayed God (Job 2:3). Satan tried and tried, but to no avail. And Satan tried everything to cause Jesus to betray His Father (Matthew 4:1-10). It caused great pain to God when Israel betrayed His trust (Hosea 11:1,8). Israel was the wife God chose. She betrayed Him in that closest of relationships -- marriage. That betrayal brought a great anger and wrath from God and He divorced the wife He had betrothed unto Himself (Jeremiah 2:2). God is God! He is Almighty, so even if He is betrayed, He never loses control (and one day will bring Israel back to Himself). Humans who accept the blood of Jesus Christ and who have their names written in the Book before His throne are betrothed to Him. If they break their promise and turn their backs on the One who loves them and died for them, they will be cast away -- eternally. There is no second chance for them (Hebrews 6:6). The penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Betrayal of that great love and gift deserves to be punished. Higher than the heavens We cannot comprehend the fullness of the mind of God. This difference in power and glory was captured in the words of a prophet. God does reach out to us because He knows our weaknesses. He makes Himself available, but we are the ones who need to ponder His majesty. His thoughts and His ways exceed anything we can dream of, since His thoughts are higher than our thoughts as the heavens above the earth (Isaiah 55:8-9).
One of the wonderful character traits God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ possess is that they never break a promise -- and They promised that They would never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). Sin cuts us off from God, but He provided a Savior for mankind. Even though God may step back for a little while when we need to learn some lessons about how to properly serve and love Him, He never forgets His people. He will never betray those who follow Jesus' example and are truly repentant when they sin. He will never betray a friend.
How can that be? The shame would be ours, but it does hurt God when He has granted a person repentance and shed Jesus' blood for them -- only to find out that this person treats that sacrifice so lightly that they simply go back to their old ways and old sins. That is a betrayal of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, because He stood in the gap for us -- He paid for our sins. How can we so easily kiss Jesus and call Him friend while we have made arrangements for thirty pieces of silver with God's enemies? We cannot, we must not. Further reading For more interesting reading, request our free booklets and . Copyright 2010 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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Origin of article "Betrayed by a Friend"
Keywords: friends betrayal God's faithfulness friendship with God betraying God
God's faithfulness: