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John 3:16-17
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I want to evaluate God's ideas and follow the ones that make sense. If his suggestions are difficult, costly, or even inconvenient, I will usually postpone implementation. But the first disciples of Jesus would have been shocked by my casual approach to God. Obey God? Of course! He's God. They wondered, "How can God be our Friend?" I'm confused that a friend can command me to obey.
John 15:12-17
"This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. "I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. "You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. "This is what I command you: Love one another."
I want to be known as someone who would die for my friends. But when I think about dying for a specific friend, it's much harder to imagine following through. I love the idea of love but I don't love making sacrifices. Jesus knows Judas is on his way to betray him. He knows his remaining disciples will deny him and run away from danger. He's loved them for three years, but they still don't understand him, and they still can't do what he asks. He had every right to give them orders and judge them for failing. Instead, he looks into their searching eyes and says, "I chose you. I appointed you. I love you." Then, he tells them the secrets the Father has shared with him. The difference between being God's servant and his friend is access to his heart. There's no scenario in which we don't obey God. When I think about blind obedience, I rightly feel suspicious. But when I think about obeying someone who died for me because he loves me, it feels right. In college, I got involved with a small group of friends that was uncommonly loving toward one another. No task was too small to do for someone else. They had each other over for dinner, washed one another’s dishes, gave car rides, and helped each other study for exams. But it wasn't a clique. If someone else wanted to be part of the group, they could just join. As they got involved, they were already in the room when the Bible studies started, friends started to pray for each other, or everyone got in a car to go to church. By the time I graduated, over a hundred people were meeting for worship in an overcrowded frat house every Tuesday night. They were Jesus' friends. They were friends like Jesus. The command to love isn't an arbitrary requirement. It isn't a manipulative ask. It comes from someone who loved us first.
What stands out to you about Jesus telling these disciples about the importance of sacrificial love?
Do you feel like your relationship with God is more about taking orders or being trusted with his plan?
Who has been a friend like Jesus to you? What did they do that helped you experience God's love?
Write down, "Love one another as I have loved you." Ask God, "Why did you ask me to do this?" After you finish praying, reach out to a friend to discuss what you heard.
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