Friendship with Jesus

Feb. 14

Read: John 15:12-17

Friendship with Jesus

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” - Jesus

The greatest demonstration of Christ’s love for us is his sacrifice on the cross… his “laying down his life for his friends”. The core of love is always a willingness to sacrifice - to “lay down one’s life” for - another person; but there is another facet to love and friendship that often gets overlooked. Jesus follows up his stirring call to radical, sacrificial love by saying this: “you are my friends if you do what I command you.”

Friendship with Jesus goes hand in hand with obedience. Doing what Jesus asks you to do is a key pert of developing friendship and relationship with him. Disobedience to Jesus’ commands and claiming friendship with are simply incompatible. Jesus said so himself… right here… point blank. “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” When we are indifferent to Jesus’ instructions and commandments… we are destroying our friendship with Christ. Disobedience is always a hinderance to relationship.

The opposite is true as well, our “friendship” with Christ grows stronger and stronger as we set our eyes on him and seek to do what he calls us to do. This is living into our true identity in Christ. Friendship with Jesus precedes our obedience and his giving of commandments, yet how we act matters. What we do in this life matters. I have had many conversations with those who want to “hear God more often” or “be entrusted with more” in the Kingdom of God. The most anxious forms of these conversations have people claiming that God “isn’t talking to them”… that he is giving them the silent treatment. Yet, when it comes to some very basic questions about our actions, we realize that God has indeed spoken to us a great deal - the question is, Are we listening? When we don’t listen to what God has already said to us, then we are in no position to receive anymore instructions . It is not as if God is “withholding” but moreso that he gives us directions one step at a time. So the question now is: What has Jesus asked you to do? What is he calling you to? Disobeying Jesus and friendship with him simply do not play well together!

Start out today by asking Jesus what he commands you to do… what he has in store for you today. Jesus started out this passage with a very basic commandment: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (v.12) If nothing else, start with this today. Knowing that love = laying down ones life for one another in the body of Christ, seek opportunities to do that today… for your wife… your friends… your children… your boss… your neighbor. Begin to develop this habit of doing what Jesus asks you to do - it will strengthen your friendship with Christ! Love you guys. - JDP