I'm overflowing

My heart is overflowing this morning. I just finished days 4 and 5 of week 9 of "Jesus the One and Only" from Beth Moore. I mentioned this Bible Study yesterday. (Still LOVE IT!!)

Day 4 is titled "The Kiss of Betrayal". Speaking of Judas' kiss, as his sign of pointing out Jesus to those who were coming to betray him. -A bit off topic, but leading to where I'm going: I love how God reveals different things at different times when we get into the Word. He's so awesome.- My "reveal of the day" today was in Matthew 26:49-50, "Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, 'Greetings, Rabbi!' and kissed him. Jesus replied, 'Friend, do what you came for.'" Did you see that? HE CALLED HIM FRIEND!! Not enemy, not betrayer, not you SUPER, MEAN JERK!! (Yes, that last one is what probably would have come out of my mouth. I use the word "super" to accentuate almost anything.) But friend. He called him friend. Judas was not his enemy. Jesus loved him, he was his companion. They'd done a lot together. It makes me cry, as a human, to even imagine the betrayal that Jesus must have felt.

I have friends. I have people that I consider "companions". They are ones that really know me. They are the ones that I am able to be "real" with. A lot of people see me, and know about me, but not everybody knows my passions. Not everybody knows my heart. Not everybody gets to see me in action. Only my friends get that "privelege"!! My friends are the ones that I don't have to clean my house for. (Although, I do try to make sure my toilets are clean for them!!) My friends are the ones that I can call on a Friday night and they'll be over an hour later for pizza and some games. My friends know my weaknesses, and they're okay with them. My friends are the ones that I trust to take care of my kids. The ones that I get the privelege of taking care of their kids. My companions in life.

This was the kind of relationship that Jesus and Judas had. They had done life together. Judas knew what he was doing. I wonder when he realized the extent of it. (The Word does say that the devil "entered him" in Luke 22:3, so I'm sure that Satan found a very convenient time to "exit" him.) Was it at that point when Jesus called him, "friend"? I'm thinking it must have been. That moment is followed pretty quickly by Matthew 27:3-5 MSG, "Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, 'I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man.' They said, 'What do we care? That's your problem!' Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself." He had betrayed his friend. He couldn't handle it. I wonder if he maybe thought Jesus would get out of it. In vs 3 says, he "realized that Jesus was doomed." Did he not think it would get to the point that it had gotten? After all, being his companion, he knew the power that Jesus had. He had seen the miracles that Jesus had performed. He'd seen him walk on water, feed thousands with a few fish and a bit of bread. He saw him RAISE THE DEAD!! I'm not trying to "stick up for Judas" at all. I'm just wandering a bit.

That's all I have time for right now. I would love to write about Peter's betrayal right now, too, but I have a certain little girl asking for cheese. Gotta go!!