Called to be a Faithful Friend of Jesus

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Called to be a Faithful Friend of Jesus

"The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father."

(John 15: 13 - 15)

What a privilege and blessing it is to have our Lord beside us in this walk of life. When we look back at some special and unforgettable moments that we had come through; moments that were happy or sad, moments when we were alone or surrounded by people, moments when we had achieved or failed, moments of loss or gain, isn't it wonderful to realise that we had the presence of our Lord moving with us through all these?

Even though the truth about being in a relationship of faithful friendship with Jesus was nurtured in my thought right from my Sunday school days, it was recently that I realised how serious was Jesus when he made this great call to us - the call to be His good friends. It was not until I had realised what was said before this great call. The parable of 'the Vine and the branches.' In John 15, verses 1 - 11 (verses before this great call) Jesus talks about 'the True Vine,' the branches, remaining in each other through love, and this love being expressed through the obedience to God's commands.

Right at the beginning of this call to be in this friendship, Jesus reminds us of His love for us, the greatest love that a person can show to a friend. Jesus says, "The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:13). What a powerful calling is this. Today when we look into these words closely, we would realise, how much the Lord has invested in us already. Out of his love for us, He has already paid the price. He died for us, for the pardon of our sins, on our behalf on that cross, so that this great call of His everlasting friendship will begin with such a dedication. Jesus has already set the bar for this higher calling of true friendship. And now, He invites us.

I was wondering what an amazing calling this would be. Jesus continues to say "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father" (John 15:15). Aren't we supposed to say a huge "Wow" for that? Jesus calls us to be His friends more than being His servants because He has been so transparent with us about everything He had heard from our Heavenly Father. Yes! All those greatest secrets, the greatest revelations, the mysteries that the human mind still struggles to perceive, the truth about everlasting life, because Jesus was there with the Heavenly Father right from the time the world was created. And this was His honesty, transparency, dedication and sacrifice that He has made for our friendship to last with Him.

This great call for this marvellous friendship is to know what our Lord our God is doing in our lives, in this world ("because a servant does not know what his master is doing" - John 15: 15). Christ Jesus wants us to be His friends so that we will know what He is doing in this world. He wants us to be His friends so that we will always be in touch with the mission that He has given us. And this is the mission to love each other as Jesus has loved us (John 15:12) and to be fruitful in this world so that our fruitfulness will glorify our Father in Heaven (John 15:08). This great call is to feel the Godly heartbeat and to respond to its pace and rhythm. And, we surely know, that our Lord our God is very serious when He makes this great call.

Today, I pray that we will respond to this great call of friendship. I pray that the ears of our hearts will be ready to receive this calling in all its glory and splendour, and we will take forward the love, dedication and sacrifice in this world, and be fruitful ambassadors of Christ Jesus who will glorify the name of our Heavenly Father in this world. May the power and blessing of God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with us and help us to respond and cherish this great calling of friendship with Christ Jesus.

May God bless you.

Yours in Christ,