Jesus,
the Friend
“I no longer call you servants,
because a servant
does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends,
for everything
that I have learned from my Father
I have made known to you.”
John 15:15 (NIV)
Have you ever considered Jesus to be a friend of yours? Does your thinking allow you to be this intimate with Jesus? Jesus says to His disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. … My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:9-12 NIV).
For some of us, perhaps we need a paradigm shift in our thinking. Jesus does not hold us at arm’s length; in fact, He is willing to come and sit and talk with us, just as He did when He was with His disciples, and we see it also happening when He was with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He wants to be included in our day, but more than that, He wants to include us in His plans and purposes for the rest of humanity.
Before He told them that He loved them, He first told them: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” It is because He has taken us into a covenant of friendship with Him that Jesus makes this a promise. He knows that in this true friendship, we would not ask for more than what we ought to. In other words, we will not abuse the friendship, for real friends do not abuse each other’s generosity. Jesus follows the above sentence with: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8 NIV). The promise from Jesus is not for personal gain per se, but rather so that we will bring glory to God as we grow in His ways. People need to see Jesus in us.
There is much to be said on this subject, but the words need to be limited here, and so I shall end this discussion by quoting Jesus: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NIV).
Let us embrace this intimate friendship with Jesus and move forward as a true follower of His with a joyful disposition.
The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.