“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.” John 15:15 CSB
He has made known to us everything He has heard from His Father, we are His friends. We are IN! We belong! We are friends!
Just this morning on the news, I heard a clip from Brene Brown. She’s a NY times bestselling author who has studied relationships for the past two decades. She has a new Netflix series, “ “The Call to Courage” which is about choosing courage over comfort in today’s society. She was describing the difference between “fitting in” and “belonging”. I love the point she was making: fitting in is knowing what you need to do to be accepted by the people around you, belonging is being true to yourself and your beliefs, even if it means you are all alone. That’s not a direct quote, it’s what I heard.
It’s true. We spend so much time trying to fit in we don’t belong. I know I’ve felt this way in my life. Some of my loneliness moments have been when I’m surrounded by people because I refuse to do what they are doing. It’s because I try to live for an audience of One, I’m not saying I always succeed. In fact, there are times I just down right fail but there are two scriptures I cling to when it comes to this:
“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NIV) According to our verse today, I wouldn’t be Christ’s friend, since He no longer calls us servants but friends.
The second scripture I yearn to hear when God moves me to heaven is this one:
“Well done good and faithful servant!” Matthew 25:23 NIV
I don’t want to “fit in” here on earth. I want to belong to Christ in Heaven. I want Him to be my friend and I His. The song, “What a Friend in Jesus” says it all:
What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and grieves to bear
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer
Oh what peace we often forfeit of what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer
Have we trials and temptations is there trouble anywhere
If we have don’t be discouraged take it to the Lord in prayer
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
