Philos: friend
by Jane Mueller
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‘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).
I’m drawn to the words of columnist Doug Larson: ‘A true friend overlooks your failures and tolerates your successes’.
A friend doesn’t just love you: a friend actually likes you. A friend doesn’t endure you: a friend desires to be in your presence. A friend doesn’t bring performance pressure: a friend empowers you to freely be yourself. A friend doesn’t love you for who you will become: a friend loves you for who you are today.
Authentic friendship means being so vulnerable that you give the other person enough ammunition to annihilate you, trusting that they won’t.
It’s almost inconceivable, then, that Jesus, the King of Kings, calls us his friend. But it’s true. We do not need to earn his friendship, and there is nothing we can do to lose it. Quite simply, we are friends with the king! This means we are highly favoured and given special honour. This means you are highly favoured and given special honour. You are invited to come just as you are into Jesus’ presence, where you are empowered to freely be yourself.
Nothing can separate us from the loving, healing and sovereign presence of our friend, Jesus. He loved us before we were loveable. His friendship goes above and beyond. After all, he humbled himself and took on the sin of every human being – those who lived before his time, those who lived during his time, and those of us who live today – by laying down his life for us all. Through him, we are eternally connected to friends around the globe.
Jesus, what a friend we have in you! Your friendship carries us through each day. Thank you for loving us unconditionally and for the abundant favour you pour over us. Your grace is immeasurable. Amen.
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