"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 learned from my Father I have made known to you." – John 15:15 (NIV)
This verse blows my mind and I think it should blow your mind too. Jesus is talking to His disciples here, but we can really read it with the mindset of Him talking to us too. He says, "You are no longer people who carry out the work I need done. You know me and my purpose and you know all that I know (especially in the sense of His resurrection). Since you know all this and I have trusted you with so much, I now think of you as friends." Wow! Did your jaw just fall open and your heart feel as though it might explode with love? I know mine did! That's because, when I think of friendship, I think of all of the awesome components of friendship that we are privileged to have with Jesus because He now considers us (His believers) as friends. Let's look at all that make up friendships, together:
Friendships Begin with a Common Interest
Jesus and believers share a common interest in our love of God and our desire to understand His Word. Though Jesus understands the Word much more fully than we do (He is called "the Word" after all), our desire brings us to His level as we seek full understanding and compliance to what our Creator has said.
History
We have a history with Jesus, whether we know it or not; and whether we are new to our faith or not. The disciples had history with Jesus from their time they spent with Him during His ministry. We have history with Jesus because of His trip to the cross. When He was sacrificed for our sins, we were eternally tied to Him... and not just "us" as a whole world, but us personally as well! You were on his mind when He died!
Common Values
This one is easy. If we believe in the writings of the Bible and uphold them as supreme in our lives, we obviously share common values with Jesus who helped establish our commands at the beginning of time and who followed them completely while on earth.
Equality
Because of Jesus's sacrifice, we as believers have all been allowed the same privileges as He from our Father God. We have become equal heirs to eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven and equal heirs to the promises of God here on Earth... and w have our friend Jesus to thank for that!
A Commitment to Your Happiness
This is a key characteristic of a true friend. Though Jesus is complete and happy now, we do make Him happy by following His teachings and living out our lives as Christians. Jesus is also committed to our happiness. Romans 8:34 says, "Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us." Jesus pleads for us with His Father for all we need, pray for, and most importantly, our forgiveness. He is truly committed to our happiness day in and day out.
Not Asking You to Place Your Friendship Before Your Principles
As we said before, Jesus shares the same principles with us and followed them perfectly on earth. He would never ask you to disregard those principles to stick with Him... and if you ever feel like you are being pulled in that direction, remember: That is not Jesus talking!
Jesus gives us so much to look forward to and to live for! He considers us His friend; we are equals to Him in God's eyes; and He is committed to our happiness all day, every day. If that isn't something to shout about, I don't know what is!
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Are you looking for a good reading plan and just don't know where to start? Join me in reading all about the Bible's teachings on Thanksgiving throughout the whole month of November! Check out our November reading plan below and don't forget to stop by our Instagram Live (@whitneygibbsministries) each evening to discuss the day's readings!
