“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:5 NKJV)
When Jesus began His ministry to make the invisible God visible, He wasted no time gathering disciples, whom He called friends (John 15:15). In fact, Jesus was criticized for some of His friendships (Luke 7:34). But He persisted – and still persists – in embracing those who would embrace Him (John 15: 14, 16). What greater honor can there be than publicly to be called God’s friends?
God calls us to be His friends. What does friendship entail? Surely it involves spending time, sharing delights, bearing problems, and divulging intimacies. It requires common interests and shared values, similar objectives and unity of heart. Most of all it involves laying down your life for your friends (John 15:13) – and that is exactly what Jesus did for us. It is true that “there are ‘friends’ that destroy each other” (Proverbs 18:24a). They do it by controlling, demanding, betraying, and abusing. They are friends in name only. But a “real friend sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24b). And that is the kind of friendship God extends to us – incredibly – and expects from us in return.
– Excerpted from “Daily Study Bible for Men” with daily studies by Stuart Briscoe
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