John 15: 13 – 15
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Yesterday I wrote to you about being a deep-water devotee. There are few pleasures in this earth that satisfy like finding a deep-water running mate. I once felt so alone, like few people wanted to dedicate their lives and our conversation to the pursuit of Jesus, our Christ. I am here to say today that I am blessed. I have friends, people who want to run in the fast lane of Christian quest.
I believe Jesus shows us a model for friendship in this passage. First of all, he calls us into friendship with him. Wow, just wow! Then he shows us the dedication he gives to friendship; that he was willing to lay down his life for his friends, i.e. you and me. However, I see another key factor in this friendship equation. Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” I am not suggesting that a friend should be obedient to you. I do recognize, though, that we must be of like mind and spirit. In other words, Jesus points out to us that our way should be his way. We should run his path. We cannot really be friends with someone who is running a different path than we are. Sometimes that is sad. Every now and again you lose someone along the way. I grieve those losses but there is joy in the morning when you find a true running mate. When you find someone who is willing to delve into the deep things of Christ with you, who will respect your opinions and questions and call you in even deeper, then it truly is like finding a gold mine.
I dedicate this Word of the Day to my Deep Water friends. You know who you are and I appreciate you. I also wish to extend an invitation to others who wish to jump in the deep water. There is plenty of room in the ocean for you. Come on in, the water is fine and your new friends await you.
