Friendship Love

​Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:12-15)

In this passage Jesus gives us a command. God’s commands are not to be taken lightly; they are non-negotiable. In other words, as Christians, God holds authority over our very lives; He is our “Commander and Chief.” We have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus.
“We have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
When God tells us we are to love one another, there are no options, excuses, or attempts at blaming someone else or circumstances in our lives. We are to “Just do it.”
“If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
What does this love look like, and who are we to bestow it on? In John 14 and 15 we find Jesus bestowing it on His disciples, those He poured His Spirit and life into. They were His friends. They ate, talked, walked, fished, and were made fun of, misunderstood and ridiculed just like Jesus. He loved them with all their doubt, lack of understanding and even lack of faith at times. He never gave up on them, even when they were too tired to pray with Him in Gethsemane before His death.
This was friendship love in action. To know this kind of love, we have to know the Creator and Provider of love. Jesus said:
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:9-10)
Wow! God’s love comes from abiding in Him. Abiding is an action, something we do continually, a memory that dwells in our lives and minds, enduring through time and space.
Jesus’ life was full of activity, being engaged and occupied with demands. His time, wisdom, healing hand, problem-solving life was constantly bombarded with the needs of people. He knew He could not do what He did without the abiding presence of His Father! We, too, cannot give what we have not received! In order to love like Jesus and to know godly friendship, we have to be abiding in Him.
When Jesus made the statement, “We are His friends,” what exactly did He mean?
Are we to care about someone more than we care about ourselves?
Are we to go the extra mile in our love giving?
Is listening and spending time in people’s presence important?
Should our actions speak louder than our words?
Should speaking God’s truths in love be at the core of our relationships?
All through the Covid pandemic I have asked myself what will life and the church – God’s called-out ones – look like after this is over? Are we being more concerned with just me and mine, or are we seeing the world, our neighbors, the lady at Wal-Mart, or the person waiting on us in the drive-through with Jesus’ eyes? Jesus never separated Himself from the suffering He saw around Him. He knew full well eternity weighed in the balance! Men and women were dying all around Him without an abiding Savior in their lives.
Godly friendship costs! In fact, Jesus says it will cost our very lives! Dr. Stanly made a statement that is so true: “Adversity often brings us face-to-face with our need to associate with people.”
Seeing each other through God’s eyes is about relationship and communication. God created us for fellowship and one-on-one communication with others and with Him. We need each other, just as Jesus needs His Father. Each life and each life-story is significant, important, and worthy of our attention.
Life’s struggles knit us together. It’s like a knitted throw. If a thread gets loose, the whole quilt can fall apart and unravel. God has knitted our lives together through the Lord Jesus Christ. Each thread is important to the whole. Taking time to listen and hear a friend’s heart, to pray and share what God is speaking to you about from His Word, is friendship love. Hearing a voice, seeing an expression, tells us volumes about what is in our hearts.
I find myself so longing to talk to Jesus, to see His face, to feel His hand on my shoulder, and to hear His voice. I believe He desires the same from us towards Him and others.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good (more satisfying) reward for their labor; for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecc. 4:9-10 AMPC)
“Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins (forgives and disregards the offenses of others).” (1 Peter 4:8 AMPC)
Friendship
We grow closer to each other
When we’re closer to the Lord,
The common faith that we share
Binds our hearts in one accord
For friendships last a lifetime
When built on Jesus Christ,
Throughout each different season,
We find we are in life.
Friends are there through times of grief
And times when hope is gone,
Always they’re with encouragement
So we can carry on.
So thank the Lord for giving you
A true and faithful friend,
To laugh with you and cry with you,
On whom you can depend.
For friends will stay no matter what,
Giving you support
And together your hearts truly unite
With the love of the Lord.
By M. S. Lowndes