"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
John 15:12-15
I love the idea here of friendship with God. I think it is something that God wants with us, and it puts a lot of things into perspective. When Christ talks about commandments here, he is showing the difference between the request of a friend and the request of a master. Though we owe him everything and he could certainly claim the title of Master and Lord, for that is who he is, instead, he claims friendship.
He laid down his life for us, because we are his friends. He loves us because we are his friends. He asks us to change our lives and to become better and to seek eternal life, because we are his friends and he wants us to be happy, and to have that friendship become stronger and better into eternity. He is in the smallest details of our lives, helping and lifting, as a friend.
Today, let's step back and consider how we are treating our relationship with Christ. Are we treating him as an external authority figure? If so, how would treating him as a friend change things? Let's talk to him as a friend today, and help that bond grow as we listen to his excellent advice. :)
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