The truth is, we’re all terrible friends to Jesus. But he is still the truest friend we could have. In John 15:15, Jesus says to his disciples, “I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.” He calls his disciples friends. He says this before his arrest, before his crucifixion, before the sorrowful disappointment of his burial, knowing full well his friends are about to fail him. He knows they’re going to betray him, abandon him, and deny him. And he still calls them friends … This is the kind of friend Jesus is. There is none truer. No friend was born for adversity like him. Despite our petty compromises, despite our misplaced passions, despite our frequent lapses into idolatry and our constant trading in of our commitment to him for interest in a million different things nowhere close to worthy of his name, he doesn’t call us servants. He calls us friends.
– Jared C. Wilson
Reading Reflection:
It’s hard to believe that Jesus invites us into friendship. He is so holy, righteous, and perfect, while we are sinners. Yet, He remains faithfully devoted to us even when we constantly wander from Him. This teaches us that in our friendship with Jesus, we can trust Him completely. His decision to enter into a relationship with us wasn’t based on our goodness, so we can be confident that He will stand by us until the end. As we grasp the reality that Jesus calls us friends, we come to understand that what He desires from us is not a performance but, rather, our hearts.
