[Real Life] Love And SacrificeSample

A Friend of God

Jesus Christ can meet my innermost need—love. I decide I am going to keep my life pure for Him. Leaving sinful things behind is not a sacrifice, though it may feel like it when we are letting go. But we lay them down because we want to know the greatest love there is. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. When we realize the love of God, renouncing things is really not a sacrifice. 

In John 15 Jesus is saying, “I’m moving you from ‘servant’ to ‘friend’. From ‘private’ to ‘pal.’” We move through salvation in Jesus Christ by going from relating to Him as ‘servants’ to ‘friends’. A private brings an action in the army’s assignment. A servant’s assignment brings their action. However, for a friend, love brings their action. 

As servants or privates, if Jesus says “Jump,” we answer, “How high?” But as friends, if Jesus says “Jump,” we say, “Yes, I'd love to, because I love and care for You. My love brings the action.” A servant says, “You give me the command, and then I act. I don't have to think about love, know why, or understand. I just act.” A friend says, “I act because I love and understand, and I’m going to take a step forward.”

Jesus, the Son of God, calls us friend. That is amazing! Why? There are only two people in the entire Old Testament who God called friend. Two people: Abraham and Moses. Jesus gives a blanket statement to us, Jews and Gentiles (all of us): through Jesus Christ, we can, every one of us, become a friend of God. 

Moses and Abraham were declared to be friends of God in the Old Testament. They walked in relationship with God. Everyone else just went to the synagogue and kept the law the best they knew how, but did not have a friendship with God. Jesus says, “I am going to lay down my life, and I will call you ‘friend.’” The reason He can call us ‘friend’ is because He made it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts through salvation. In Him, we have the power to walk in love and leave behind our sinful nature and all the things that came along with it. They have no place in our lives anymore. We get to walk in friendship with God. 

Abraham, Moses, and *insert your name here.*