“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 15:15 (RSV)
“For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29 (RSV)
This time of year has everyone very preoccupied with thinking about gifts, so while we are in that line of thinking, there is one gift that is greatly under emphasized. We all know the gift of eternal life, but Jesus also offers us the gift of His friendship. The friendship we have now with Jesus, prepares us for the reunion we will have with Him on the day we meet Him face to face.
Jesus said to His disciples, and to all of us, who are His disciples today,
“No longer do I call you servants, I call you friends….”
How amazing it is to think about the 2nd person of the Trinity, who became incarnate, and lived among ordinary men, all so that He could go on to call us His friends.
Of all the gifts Jesus gave us, the most overlooked one is how much He desires our friendship.
His disciples were blessed to have lived with their Messiah for three years. They witnessed firsthand, how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee, healed ten lepers at once, and fed five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish.
What an honor it was to have lived in that day and to have seen all that Jesus did with their own eyes.
We didn’t live in those days and we missed out in witnessing His glorious miracles in person, but the one gift that we can still experience today is His friendship. Paul told the Roman Christians that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)
That word “irrevocable” is a long Greek word “ametamelita”, which means never repented of, and unchanging. In other words, His gift of friendship is given to us without regret, and it never changes.
When Jesus called us His friends, He made it clear that it wasn’t always that way. His friendship is a new gift, something that came only through Him. Jesus changed forever, the potential to be more than servants of God, but to also be His friends. It’s an honor to be called a friend of any highly respected person, but we should be thrilled that the Son of God is calling us His friends.
In the 1980’s I became involved with the international Embassy of Christians and Jews. I sent a few signed petitions to the Soviet Union on behalf of the Jewish people who were being refused their freedom to emigrate. The petitions requested freedom for all those living in internal exile as oppressed citizens. Some people were even sent to Siberia for becoming activists in seeking freedom for their people.
One lady, living in the Soviet Union, who was a well known Jewish activist, was referred to as the “mother” of all Soviet Jews. Ida Nudel was the inspiration to many other prisoners, by organizing activities which brought world attention to their plight.
One day, I decided to write her a letter, telling her that I was praying for all of their release. I didn’t know her and she didn’t know me, but it was like sending out a message to some far away place, by faith.
I sent the letter requesting a signed postal receipt. To my surprise, I received that receipt, and in the signature box, instead of a signed name, were the words,
“Thank you, my dear friend.”
Although we never met, it was so touching to receive such a response and proof that my letter was received.
In the late 80’s, President Gorbachev finally opened the Soviet borders and all those Jewish prisoners were free to emigrate to Israel.
Jesus calls us friends, not servants. Friends share different parts of their day with each other. Friends share and support each other in their joys and sorrows. We need to invite Jesus into every problem, as well as into every frustration throughout each day. If He is with us in the frustrating moments, we will be more aware of Him being with us in the good things that happen throughout our day. We send our prayers up to heaven, without seeing Him, but we trust and believe He hears us, by faith.
Jesus has sent each one of us a return postal receipt from Heaven. In the signature box, He is calling us “My dear friends”, and we can read His heavenly postal receipt any time, by reading His words in John 15:15 as a reminder.
He wants us to know that our friendship with Him is an irrevocable gift. It is not taken away from us the moment we lose heart, or fluctuate in faith or even lapse in obedience. His friendship is without regret or remorse, and He never changes, standing by us during the best and the worst times in our lives. Friends may not change our circumstances, but they love us, standing patiently with us, and Jesus is a friend like none other.
Lord, you died to give us eternal life which begins with your eternal and intimate friendship, which we enjoy here and now. Reveal to each reader that your friendship is irrevocable and the greatest one we will ever know. Amen
