Meet My Best Friend

Ruthie Simms didn’t have a dog.
She didn’t have a cat,
Or a brother,
Or a sister.
But Jessica was the next best thing.
Jessica, by Kevin Henkes

Jessica was one of my favorite books growing up. The author, Kevin Henkes, has multiple other books, all of which were scattered throughout my childhood bookshelf. This particular book, though, always caught my attention. If you haven’t read it, quick do that, because I’m about to spoil it; don’t worry, it’s not long! 

Ruthie Simms is your average girl, about to enter Kindergarten, and she has a best friend whose name happens to be Jessica. But you see, no one else can see Jessica. She’s, well… imaginary. Despite Ruthie’s parents pleading with her to “leave Jessica at home” on the first day of Kindergarten, Ruthie “brings her with.” Then, while at school that day, the students were waiting in line for the bathroom two by two, and Ruthie was of course standing next to “Jessica.” All of a sudden, another girl from Ruthie’s class pops in and asks if she can stand next to Ruthie in line since it seemed Ruthie didn’t have a partner. Ruthie was quite astonished and didn’t know what to say until her classmate said, “My name’s Jessica!” What a coincidence! The book ends with Ruthie and the real Jessica becoming best friends! Happy, right? I thought so! 

I have absolutely nothing against imaginary friends; as an educator myself, I find that to be a characteristic of creativity in young children. But, I think the sad part of imaginary friends is that often we have “imaginary” best friends who take the place of our one true best friend, Jesus. 

Now, we might not call them our imaginary best friends, or even our friends at all, but that’s truly what they are. 

They can be anything from our careers to our families to our hobbies to our manners of relaxation, the list goes on. 

We all have something that we don’t want to let go of, just like Ruthie Simms did not want to get rid of Jessica when she went off to Kindergarten. To Ruthie, Jessica was of utmost importance in her life and she couldn’t imagine life without her.

What is it for you? What can you not imagine life without? 

Is it the house you now sit in, the one that you dreamt of for years, it has the kitchen cabinet space that could fit all the gadgets you’ve seen on the Food Network; it really checked all your boxes, and you finally felt financially stable enough to purchase it?

Is it the annual vacation you take with your spouse or your girl friends to a nice tropical beach where your cares seem to be washed away with the tide? 

Is it your new title at work, the one you toiled for with your own blood, sweat and tears, and now you’ve finally reached the top of the ladder? 

Or could it be your child’s success in school that gives you so much pride in how you have raised them and how much energy and time and money you spent to make sure they had the best, most well-rounded education possible?

Or maybe it’s something else. Think about it. What is your “Jessica?” 

If Jesus came to earth today and said to you, “Good morning, beautiful day isn’t it? I’d like you to give up ________________ [insert your “Jessica”] and just be with me. That’s all. I won’t give you your all inclusive vacation or fancy house on the cul-de-sac, no, not even a nice promotion. In fact, your life here on earth might be a little bit harder because of your relationship with me; you might be made fun of, or singled out, or considered counter-cultural. But I can promise you one thing: eternal and everlasting joy. More joy than a gorgeous kitchen, or a new car could ever bring you, so much more. To be absolutely frank, spending eternity with me will be the BEST thing you could ever even imagine. What do you say?” 

Well… what DO you say? 

Does it scare you a little? It scares me.

“Not have what I’ve always dreamt of, Jesus? What I’ve worked so hard for? I don’t know; that’s a pretty big ask.”

Oh, the silly things we fill our earthly cups with. Oh, how Satan uses these earthly pleasures to temporarily satisfy our greedy hearts. It’s silly because in reality, it’s all just imaginary. 

In the story, Ruthie Simm’s parents keep telling her, “There is no Jessica!” 

I imagine that’s how our Heavenly Father responds to us when we keep putting earthly pleasures in the place of Jesus, our true best friend. 

I imagine Him saying, “Sarah, there is no perfect vacation; there is no dream house; there is no earthly success that will bring you true joy!”

And then He tenderly takes me into his arms and whispers, “There is only Jesus.” And He points me to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the room He has prepared for me behind His heavenly gates.

Oh, what JOY! 

Jesus once told a rich man to give up his “Jessica,” so to speak. Matthew records the account for us in the 19th chapter of his gospel, verses 21-22, “Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

That rich, young man was right about one thing; he was also very wrong about one thing. Here’s what I mean: You can achieve eternal life if you live a perfect life. The only thing is… no one can. And that’s what Jesus wanted that man to realize–that he could try with all his might to be perfect, but he would continually be falling short. Jesus proved that as he asked the man to sell his possessions and follow him. But he couldn’t even do that, because his wealth had become his “Jessica.” His possessions meant more to him than his Savior. 

As much as we might want to believe it, all our earthly pleasures can never fill our heavenly cup! There is nothing in this world that can take the place of Jesus and what He has done for us and what he promises us! 

As Ruthie Simms was waiting in line for the bathroom, she was standing next to her imaginary, best friend “Jessica.” Imagine yourself in her shoes, but instead of waiting next to that imaginary best friend, you’re standing next to that dream house, that vacation, whatever kind of “Jessica” you have in your life. And up walks Jesus. He looks at you and says, “Mind if I stand in line next to you?”

The next line in the book by Kevin Henkes is this: “And they walked down the hallway hand in hand.” 

Jesus walks down the paths of life with you hand in hand. There are even times that he carries you when you cannot seem to carry on yourself. He never leaves your side. He is there during troubling times to reassure you of the joy you have now and the joy that awaits you in heaven. He cannot let you down. The joy he gives is not temporary or invisible; it will never run out or fade. It will always endure.

Now that’s a friend. Unlike Jessica, Jesus didn’t just walk down the hallways with us, he walked the path to the cross with us in mind. He saw your face and said, “I’d like to be with her forever in heaven. She is worth it. I cannot imagine heaven without her!”

Doesn’t that sound like a friend you want?

Doesn’t that sound like a friend you need? 

What a friend we have in Jesus!