my friends
I was stunned when I first read these words of Jesus in my initial read through the gospel of JOHN in 1973: I have called you friends (John 15:15). This kind of reciprocity of love between Jesus' first disciples and Himself - extended to us in our being disciples who seek to know and follow Him - was way beyond my capacity to understand. Up to that point in my life, I never had a "friendship" with someone superior to me, like an older relative, or a teacher, let alone with God Himself, the Superior of superiors. Ever since, I have basked in that sweet Reality.
Shortly after Jesus calls His disciples His friends, He commands us to love each other (John 15:17), which, in context, means that we should be making friends of each other. In the Scripture, there are beautiful examples of friendship, such as between David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, Mary and Elizabeth, and Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Jesus. Christian history is full of tender friendships, the fruit of a common friendship with God.
As I age more noticeably, there is a temptation to retreat into the self. By the Grace of God, I find my self paying greater attention to friendship. Through the years, I've had many "friends", but have honestly tended to be a shallow friend, tender when present but distant when absent. Now that some have moved away, including those who have moved to Glory, I'm being invited by God to go deeper with some of these friends that He has given me. In some ways, I've only skimmed the surface with them, and I wish to go deeper now that both inclination and opportunity present themselves. I'm praying for God to lead me back to those who will be blessed by the renewal of our mutual friendship.
Perhaps you, too, are in need of a renewal of your friends, including your friendship with Jesus. Ours is a culture that doesn't promote friendship very well. We're too distracted by all that is presented to us. May we buck that trend, and be found as those who are, as the title of one of our denominations calls it, a "Society of Friends".