Time to Graduate?
“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). Other pressing matters led to my getting a late start on this post this morning. So I’ll just introduce a topic that I’ll be reflecting upon more later.
What I’d like to to have us think about together is friendship with Jesus. This theme has been coming at me from several different directions the last couple of days — a middle of the night insight into something that had happened with a friend the previous day; the last couple of chapters in a book I just finished; the first couple of chapters in another book I picked up.
Here are some questions to mull over:
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It may be that you regard Jesus as your Savior, your Teacher, your King or your God. Do you ever think of him as your Friend?
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How do you define “friendship?”
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What do you look for in a friendship?
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How is your relationship with Jesus like or unlike your other friendships?
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Do any of your beliefs or perceptions about Jesus make it difficult for you to think of him as a friend?
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Does this topic even interest you? Do you even want him to be your friend?
These aren’t intended to be essay questions. You don’t have to send in written responses in order to receive a special password that will unlock tomorrow’s post. Hopefully, they are already helping you reflect upon your current relationship with Jesus. In my experience, adults tell kids that Jesus is their friend, but they don’t tell each other. Or it’s something we talk about when we introduce someone to Christ, but then we stop talking about it. Maybe we assume that the idea of Jesus being our friend is mainly for baby Christians, until they can graduate to being “disciples” or “servants.” Except, that’s not what Jesus says. Jesus tells folks who had already been his disciples for three years, ’I no longer call you servants but friends.’
Maybe friendship with Jesus is something we grow into rather than out of.
March 31, 2008 at 11:39 am
To me friendship denotes an equality to a relationship. We make Jesus superior to us (and rightly so) with the labels Savior, Teacher, King, or God. It seems a confusing thing for him to say. He considers his disciples his friends but apparently only after some time together. It’s as though increased familiarity with Jesus and his teachings brings us closer to this friendship level. I’m curious how the disciples must have reacted to this. Equality of relationship with a mentor, it seems an uncomfortable notion to me, and yet Jesus is seemingly trying to connect with them on a more personal level.
(I miss hearing the sermons on the Sundays I work. The cd’s and tapes are great, but I especially like the access to them on the internet. Thanks to everyone involved!)
March 31, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I know what you mean, Steve! When I was answering Rich’s questions to myself, I found myself answering that the relationship with Jesus is unlike the other friendships I have because if I know what He really suggests me to do, I do it(as best I can). I don’t have to think about whether his advice is accurate or not (just if I have heard him correctly - sometimes I know without a shadow of doubt that I have heard Him correctly, I just have to act). This is a tremendous comfort to me - that I have a friend that I can trust His advice EVERY SINGLE TIME!