¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ 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. 

This has been my most pervading thought lately.

Friends are without a doubt one of the most precious things in life. You cannot live without them, and they are there to share your burden and multiply your joy. I’m sure you know your friends very well, would do your best to avoid offending them, and would do anything for them. Keep these thoughts in mind…

If you’re like me, then you sometimes view God as some grand person who can do everything just by willing it. An all powerful being who listens to us when we cry out to Him, one who takes pain when we sin, and one who cause extraordinary and supernatural things in our life, among many others. In other words he seems like a the most powerful, magical force that anyone has ever known, and the best part is that He’s on our side, and all we ever have to do to tap into this “power” is to do as He says, never sin, and be a “good Christian.”

The catch is that last part; to be a “good Christian.” So long as we don’t stray far from the path, God will be happy with us, and everything we do will be blessed. If we do something bad, we will suffer repercussions. But worry not, ask for forgiveness and thout shall be forgiven, anytime, every time, and without fail.

I’ve always felt that was like a big brother kind of thing, where someone is always watching you to slip up, and when you do you suffer the consequences, but you would be rewarded for doing something as simple as asking for forgiveness, and it comes every time.

And here is a thought on a general mindset: the more emotionally detached you are from a powerful being, the more likely we are to resist it, go against it, or develop apathy for it. Say for example you have a peer who you like a lot, and one you don’t like at all. I will almost guarantee you that you are more likely to do things peer 1 asks for and resist the things that peer 2 says, if only to spite them. If peer 1 starts to gain power but still connects with you emotionally, then nothing really changes and if anything gets you perks [like manager at Starbucks for free coffee], but if peer 2 starts to gain power, you will probably grown to dislike them as they start to use it, even if you know they are right. Because you are emotionally detached from peer 2, you don’t really worry about the things you would normally worry about with peer 1, things like respect or your friendship. To you, peer 2 is some distant person who you kinda know, but not really, and wonder why at all he asks you to do things. And if you happen to offend your friend, then you would by instinct try to apologize to them, but hurting peer 2’s feelings is kind of a come and go thing: stuff happens, but life goes on anyway.

I feel like many people, including myself, view God as peer 2 and not their friend, even though John 15:13-15 says otherwise, and I can totally understand why. Just to have the title of “Alpha Omega” “The all powerful God” “The God of all Creation” can be intimidating to anyone, and sadly this is how we preach to everyone. “God is all powerful, all knowing. Cast all you have unto Him to become clean and enlightened.” He sounds too much like a one-size-fits-all rather than a one on one kind of God. We ignore the fact that although Jesus came down for all of us, He had us in His thoughts as individuals, not as a mass.

Like I said earlier, I’m sure you know your friends well, likes and dislikes and whatnot. And I’m also sure you would not offend them purposely. I know for certain I would not willingly stick a knife into my friends gut. I am also not one to abandon them when they want to spend time with me [as sparingly as that is].

Jesus calls us friends. Friends know each other, they do not betray each other, and love to spend time with each other, yet we as “little Christs” probably don’t do much of any of these. 

If Jesus had a Facebook, ideally he would be one of those friends we don’t really write on each other’s walls because we are too busy actually talking to each other and chatting with each other while hanging out. Instead He would probably be one of those friends who you every now and again write something on the wall for the sake of keeping up.

Friends with the all mighty… kinda scary, but awesome no matter how you put it. I wonder how much our attitudes would change if we viewed him like this and not just some distant thing that must be pleased at all times. While it’s still important, we must also remember that Jesus calls us friends.

A lot of food for thought.