“Friends”
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in
my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have
kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that
my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this:
Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay
down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
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. You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and
so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my
command: Love each other.
John 15:9-17
What does the word “friend” mean to you? It has changed you
know. With social networking the who concept of friend
and unfriend takes on a whole new meaning. Can you
get in touch with your social networking friends and say, “loan me some money?”
Or could you say “help me move out of my house?” With a true friend you should
be able to go so much deeper and ask them to listen to you, to offer
suggestions and to listen to them for guidance.
Jesus is such a friend, but so much more. He is the Son of God.
He knows who you and I are, and He sends us His Spirit to help us every single
day. Lean on Jesus, trust in Him, witness for Him.
In a genuine friendship, one’s faithfulness can shore up the other’s in times of discouragement or fear. That is what
Jesus is to us – our always faithful, forever Friend.
The dearest friend on earth is but a
mere shadow compared to Jesus.
Our Daily Bread -