| John 15:15- “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.” |
We like to have friends.
They are closer and we can confide in them.
They intertwine with our lives in special ways.
But friend carries with it a special responsibility as well as a special relationship.
Two scriptures describes a special kind of friend.
One is “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.” (James 2:23, NIV)
The second is from John. “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)
Both of these indicate a closeness.
Abraham, following God from the Persian Gulf to the Jordanian desert.
The other, the disciples, after three years are shown all that Christ is and ever will be.
But, you have to be ready to be that kind of friend, the friend of God and the friend of Christ.
One person put it this way. Abraham was God’s friend, but then look what happened. God asked him to do hard things, like hike up a mountain with his only son and be prepared to sacrifice him. Is that what friends do? God did.
Or Jesus. He gives his followers this special status, this insider moment. But it would exact a cost.
One of them James, would be beheaded within a few years. Others would scatter.
They would bear a burden of spreading a message among not just opposition but persecution as well. All would give their lives in being the friend of Jesus.
So, as important as it is to be a friend of God, are you prepared to be a friend of God? Consider it well because God will ask.
–Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
