Message from Scripture: 6/25/2021

 

Today, our message from Scripture comes from John 15:14. “You are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

 

A friend, by definition, is “one attached to another by affection or esteem,” and to be a friend means “to show interest and goodwill in the life of another.”  To know someone  you can genuinely call a friend is truly special. How special it must have been for Abraham, then, to be called the friend of God (Jas. 2:23).  Abraham was a friend of God because of his commitment to God, his faith in Him, and his obedience to God's will.

 

How special it is for us to know that we, too, can be friends of our Lord.  The words we’ve read from Scripture today were spoken by Jesus before He would be sacrificed for the sins of the world. We are the objects of Jesus' love, the reason He came to this world. By His sacrifice we are offered the opportunity to have life in Him. Just as Jesus came to do the will of the Father in dying for our sins, we are called to do the will of our Lord as those beloved by Him, those attached to Him, those who are genuinely committed to Him, to submit in loving obedience to His will, where we find His blessings for our lives.

 

The most familiar passage of Scripture to most people in the world emphasizes this deep love the Father and the Son have for us; “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  It is that same kind of commitment and love that we should exhibit to the Lord, to truly be His friend.  Our submission in obedience to His will is a reflection of our relationship to Him as a friend.  “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Today, let’s go out to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, showing what true friendship really is. God bless.

 

Robert