“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

Friends

Have you ever had a friend who you felt you had to apologize for hanging out with? I recall a couple of times in my youth when I did this. One was in the 6thgrade when a boy gave a note to a friend to give to me, in which he told me he liked me, and asked if I liked him. He then provided two check-boxes, one labeled yes and the other no. He asked me to reply and send the note back. I took the note home, and although secretly thrilled that a boy liked me, I wrote the word “no” 100 times on that small piece of paper, and sent it to him by the hand of a friend. He wasn’t a popular boy, and I felt to be his friend was to ruin my social life forever.

Unlike me, Jesus didn’t suffer from the desire to protect His reputation. He had His inner circle of 12, and among them He had three intimate friends, and among them He had one who truly knew His love—but He was accused of welcoming and eating with sinners. “And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives (welcomes) sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:2).

He had no need to turn away from people for any reason. Even His betrayer, Judas, was in His inner circle. The sick and the healthy, the old and the young, the depressed and disabled, the brilliant thinkers and the demon-possessed, all enjoyed His attention.

And why shouldn’t He love them? He created them. All of them. He came to tell them in person that He loved them. He gave His life for them. He told them everything that they, in their deepest needs of life, required. He showed them His acceptance by eating with them. By giving them living water. By stopping to greet them on the street. By blessing them with His hands, His words, His assurances, His peace.

I can just see Jesus sitting at a banquet table at a wedding feast, enjoying the company of all these friends, making no apology for anyone at the table. He laughs and smiles. Everyone wants to sit near Him because He is so much fun, so accepting, so helpful. Oh, to be sure, there are outsiders jeering and pointing and fault-finding, but Jesus pays them no mind, because these are His friends.

“Lord, we want to sit at that banqueting table with You—the table that Your Father, even now, is setting for Your wedding feast with Your bride. May we extend the hand of blessing and friendship to all You send our way. Amen.”