Closer Than a Brother

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” + Proverbs 18v24

This ancient proverb is filled with prophetic truth of union with Christ. But first let us note three things.

First, the value of one good friend is far greater than many companions. Humans have an innate desire to be known and loved. Many seek to fulfill this desire by popularity. They think that being known by many people will satisfy this desire. But when your name is known by people far and wide, that often means you are not really known at all. People may know your name, or things about you; but they still do not know you. When your life comes crashing down into ruins, the masses of people that know your name will not be there for you. It is better to be known well by one good friend, than by many spectators.

Second, a brother is better than a friend. When the Scripture says that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, it implies that brotherhood is one of the strongest bonds a human can experience. There is something special about the connection between brothers born of the same mother. That bond, no other man can claim. A brother has grown up with you through the same means and has been with you through all the struggles and joys of growth. Regardless of the miles between us and the time spanned since we last enjoyed the other’s company, I feel more affinity to my brother than any other man. No matter how badly our lives may be wrecked, we are brothers still. Surely a brother is more valuable than many acquaintances.

Third, there is someone, a friend, who is actually closer than a brother. Who is this friend that sticks closer than a brother? It is Christ. This Scripture provokes the closest bond known to man, and says, Christ is closer still. No matter how firm the bond between two brothers, at the end of the day, they are individual beings. When a man is born again by the Spirit of God, it is not Christ and him working through life as partners. Through Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension, the believer is made one with Christ. Our union with Christ unites us as one with him. I cannot be separated from Christ, because I am one with Christ. You can rip everything from me, but you cannot rip Christ out of me. I cannot leave Christ precisely because He cannot leave me. The Christian is bound up forever with Christ. You can cut off my limbs and pluck out my eyes, but you cannot untie me from Christ.

Jesus sticks close to us in the tragedies of life, but even greater still, He is there in death. Death itself cannot remove the friendship of Christ. For the Christian, death is but a doorway to enter in to our glorified state of union with Christ. For the Christian, death is actually the means in which we will meet Christ with our eyes. Death – the greatest separator – has become the greatest unifier, for the Christian, with his friend, Jesus.

Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother.