By Grace Through Faith

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. 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. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” – John 15:12-17

When you think of your close friends what comes to mind? Are they people that want to be apart of your life, even though you may not live in the same city? People that you can catch up with in person and no time has past? Do they want to be with you not only in the good times, but also the challenging ones?

God teaches us in Genesis that He designed us to live in community with each other. He did not want man to be alone. In the story of Jesus, we also see that Jesus had close friends that He spent much of His time with. He broke bread with them, loved them as they were, and discipled them. His friends walked with Jesus throughout His ministry, as well as loved Him as a brother.

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are shown how much Jesus loves each of us. He desires to be your friend and to have a relationship with you. No matter the challenges or circumstances that you may be facing in life, Jesus is still there. All the time.

I am thankful to have friendships where I can see Jesus’ character within the friends I have. Much as I have learned about my dear friends, I know that Jesus doesn’t just want to know about my life. He wants to also walk through it all with me.

Today, I want to encourage you to spend time learning more about what kind of friend we have in Jesus. If you don’t know where to begin, the book of John is a wonderful place to start.

Jesus wants to be apart of our lives, the same way we are apart of each others. He wants to see it all, know it all, and hear it all from us. As we are able to learn from others around us, let us also learn from Jesus how to be a friend to the people in our lives.

With love,

Claire