Jesus tells His disciples something in John 15 that I am still trying to get my mind around. Jesus' disciples receive the ultimate advancement from slave to friend. For Jesus being His friend means we know everything that the Father is doing because Jesus has already communicated it to us. That's right-everything (His words, not mine). I have often found that I fail to approach the Father with this revelation of my identity. It is easy to read this and miss the life changing implications, to reduce it down to one more thing we know about the Bible rather than actually living it. But what if we actually believed it? The radical nature of what Jesus is saying mustn't be overlooked. To the disciples this concept of friendship with God would have been totally foreign and mind boggling. Up until this point they only pleased God through the law and only approached Him with sacrifice or through a priest. Now Jesus is saying that God wants to know us on a personal level. He wants us to work with Him and not just for Him.He wants us to come to Him expecting to hear His voice and experience His presence. A radical shift to say the least. The reality is that God actually enjoys and wants to spend time with us because we are His friends. He initiates with us far more than we ever care to recognize or respond to. There is, however, a catch. Friendship with God does not come without a price and that price is obedience. Jesus said only those who do His commands can have as precious a title as friend.So may we be an obedient people who enjoy the friendship of their Creator-and believe it!
