This evening, we looked at John 15:1-17 and our identity as friends of God. Last time, we looked at the idea that we are God’s servants, but in this passage, Jesus reminds us that if we remain in His love, we are more than servants; we can be called friends of God, as Abraham and Moses were (see 2 Chron 20:7, James 2:23, Ex 33:11). To be a confidant of God is an amazing thing!
Friendship is a precious gift; we often say that friends are the family we choose for ourselves. We looked at the qualities we value in a friend (such as good communication, being trustworthy, reliable and honest, loyalty, understanding and acceptance) and saw that all these characteristics are found in Jesus. (Ps 145:13, 2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Cor 10:13, Romans 15:7) Friendships in the Bible such as that between David and Jonathan reminds us of the strength and help we find in good friends, but we are blessed even more to have Jesus as our friend, the friend who loves at all times. (Prov 17:17) All our human needs can be satisfied in God, and so we are then set free to be a friend to others.
John 15 goes on to connect love and friendship very strongly, but the most obvious conclusion we can then draw is that to be a friend of God must result in concrete action, that we live a life of obedience to the commands of Christ. (John 15:9-14) We are never an equal with God in this relationship, but we are offered the opportunity to go beyond a distant relationship with a heavenly teacher and instead come into intimate fellowship with Him. Ps 25:14 says, ‘The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.’ Just as God made known His ways to Moses (Ps 103:7) and confided His plans about Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham (Gen 18:17-19), so we can know God’s heart and whispers and can be led into a deeper, intimate relationship with Him as we learn to abide in Him and live the way He commands us to.