Promises for Those Who Follow JesusSample

Jesus promises friendship

Throughout the Old Testament, humanity’s relationship with God was pretty regimented. Drawing close to God involved rituals and ceremonies. Even then, priests were the ones who had direct access to God and operated as mediators.

Through the cross, Jesus did away with those barriers between us and God. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16a). Not only do we have direct access to God, but His Spirit dwells within us. To have a relationship with us, God has sacrificed a lot, but what kind of relationship does God want to have with us?

Scripture tells us that Abraham was God’s friend (James 2:23), and Moses spoke to God face to face as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11). Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus explained that this was the kind of relationship God wanted to have with us:

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

Friends have things in common, and best friends share similar goals and passions. Like Abraham and Moses, God makes us His friends by including us in His plans. God’s designs for redeeming the world to Himself are not just His goals, they’re ours now, too. When God’s desires become our own, we stop being people who merely do what we’re told, and we become His friends.