Tuesday: He Calls You Friend
Read: John 15:14-17
SOAP: John 15:15
I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.
Devotion:
We are not worthy to be called friends of God, but by His grace, we receive the honor of that relationship. Israel’s identity was built on remembering what God had done for them by bringing them out of bondage in Egypt. They had been liberated, and their response was worship. They already knew God as the one who freed people from slavery, but they still understood the appropriate distance one keeps from a holy God. They also knew God’s law, but not always the reason behind it. When Jesus said that He no longer called His disciples slaves but, instead, friends, He explained one significant implication of the Incarnation: God revealing Himself to us.
We still know God only in part, and we will spend all eternity learning more. When Jesus entered the world, He chose to reveal the character of God in an intimate and direct way. In this moment with the disciples, He revealed even more to them, and this knowledge changed the relationship. We are called friends of God because of the glimpse we have been given into His grand redemptive plan.
Prayer:
God, thank You for revealing Yourself to me! Thank You for the incarnation, and the relationship this revelation allowed between us. Help me show the world this relationship I have with You. Amen.