Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. . . . You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:12, 14, 15
There’s something about having a friend that’s important to all of us. We feel good about having friends, and we are happy when we feel that people like us and include us in a circle of friendship. There’s a lot of advice out there about friendship — “make friends and influence people” was considered a path to success years ago. Even a Chinese fortune cookie has a little message in it — “To have a friend, be a friend.” A lot of parents have probably given that simple bit of advice to their children who may be wondering about how to fit in and belong in a new environment. Friendship is a precious gift that we can give one another.
Just about the most meaningful description of friendship I’ve ever heard came at a time of great sorrow and grief, when we attended the funeral of a young man who had been killed in an accident. His good friend spoke, telling how they had met as little boys in second or third grade. Chad was new at the school, and was standing on the edge of the playground, watching the other children at play, feeling uncertain, when Brett walked up and said, “What’s the matter with you? Why aren’t you playing?” Chad said, “I’m new here, and I don’t have any friends.” Brett came back with, “Well, I’ll be your friend.” And so they were, and that friendship is still a part of who Chad is and the man he grew to be. I love how little kids get right to the basics so quickly — they don’t put a lot of conditions and requirements for giving their friendship .
Jesus tells each of us that we are his friends, that he has told us all that our heavenly Father has told him. To know that the Lord we worship calls us friends, drawing us into a close relationship with him, is such a remarkable gift, how can we not share it?
Your Friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers