Wednesday, June 27, 2018
John 15:15 (NIV84) I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
155 FRIENDS?
155. That's the number of "friends" the average Facebook user has. You might think then that people today, more so than at any other time, would have many rich, fulfilling relationships. Yet that is hardly the case. Some suggest that in spite of, or maybe because of social media, relationships are struggling now more than ever. People are still isolated and lonely. They still miss caring support and help. Friendships fall apart. Marriages and families fail.
Relationships are more than just contacts on a computer screen. They are not formed instantly with the click of a mouse. They don't survive and grow all by themselves. They take time and attention. They are worth the effort. Turning off the phone and TV to really listen to your spouse helps to strengthen the bond God established on your wedding day. Making a priority of talking, playing, and teaching your children is vital to a healthy parent-child connection. Spending an hour working through a problem will do far more for a friendship than a quick tweet.
That is also true for the most important relationship of all, our connection with God as His children. It is so much more than just knowing the basics of what the Bible says. It is not merely belonging to a Christian church and attending services. It is a loving heart-to-heart relationship God established with us through Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:10 NIV84). Once we were dead in sin, destined for hell. Now by God's grace, our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus, and we are holy saints in God's eyes.
Isn't that relationship worth preserving? Isn't it worth the time and effort it takes? No one loves you more than the Lord. No one has done more for you. No one is a better friend and helper. No one else is the Savior from sin and death.
Let's treasure our relationship with Him. Jesus says, "I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15 NIV84). Let's look forward to hearing His Word of encouragement, comfort, and guidance for life. Let's turn to it daily. Let's pray that through the Word the Spirit will cause that most precious friendship of all to grow stronger day by day.
