You arrive on campus to join your new sports team. You met a few coaches and players in the process of recruitment visits, but some questions remain. Will I fit in with these guys? Will my coach become a friend? What if I don’t meet their expectations? What will it be like around here if things don’t go well?

When Jesus called His disciples His friends, they were still not certain of the extent of their relationship. They had just finished a meaningful Passover meal in the Upper Room when He announced that He would be leaving them soon. They had left a lot to follow Jesus. Now they had no idea what it would mean to lose their three-year relationship.

So, Jesus affirmed their relationship. “I call you friends.” Not servants, a word that is most often translated bondservant or slave. A bondservant referred to someone who voluntarily gave up his rights to serve another, in many cases in order to pay off a debt that he owed.

In Jesus’ day, a friend was an exalted title. Friends of the king had greater access to the throne than his own generals and statesmen.

Before coming into a relationship with Jesus, you and I rejected Him, betrayed Him, failed Him or ignored Him. Now He has called us His friends. Friendship changes everything. As a friend, Jesus offers a very different relationship than was experienced by an acquaintance or a servant.

We rightfully respect Jesus as God, worship Him as Savior and glorify Him as redeemer. To be called His friend is an invitation to draw closer, more personal. He has things to reveal to us from God the Father.

Soak on that thought for a day. This week we will look at what a friend we have in Jesus.

Today’s devotional is one of five this week on “A Friend of Jesus” by Tom Petersburg.

Tom Petersburg, www.catapultministries.org

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