August 11, 2011
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Biblical Friendship: Christ/like-mindedness
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:13-15).
Can two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? (Amos 3:3)
What is the Biblical standard of friendship? In John 15:13-15, Jesus tells us that we are His friends because He tells us what the Father told Him. Our friendship with Christ starts from faith - repenting and accepting Him as our Savior. We cannot walk together with God and abide in Christ if we do not agree with Him wholeheartedly. It is clear from divine revelation that God Himself sent His Son to die for our sins and rise up again on the third day. It is no coincidence that we cannot share in the inheritance of God's Kingdom if we do not agree wholeheartedly and sincerely repent with faith that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He died for our sins and rose up again on the third day. There is no way around this as Jesus Himself tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and whoever believes in Him will live. Those who do not believe wholeheartedly in the death and resurrection of Jesus are not His friends and therefore do not share in His Kingdom. To put it another way, though some know of the Father's business, they are not engaged in the Father's business in the way that Jesus tells us in John 15:13-15. This is the like-mindedness, the mind of Christ through transformation by renewing the mind, that Christ expects of us through faith and without faith, it is impossible to please the Father.
It is clear from these scriptures that church leadership should be like-minded with Christ possessing the mind of Christ, abiding in Him. When one realizes that a church leadership does not possess the mind of Christ and does not do the things that Christ commands (in other words, not abiding in Christ), one should leave that church immediately. Continuing to stay at such a church will be detrimental to one's spiritual health and growth in grace to the one true God. The call to be a friend of God should not be taken lightly. Whenever I hear people tell me that they are so lucky to be a friend of God, but yet do not understand what Jesus means by a friend of God, I cringe. It seems that some have taken the idea of being a friend of God out of context applying what the word "friends" means in today's society (check out Facebook and other social networking sites - this is how much friendships have been diluted in today's society) instead of what Jesus' defines it as. Jesus clearly says to us that His friends lay down their lives for Him and does what He commands (yes, He is talking about Himself, but also talks about us because we are His friends). Jesus clearly tells us that as friends, we share in the mission that the Father has given to Him. Thus, when we are Jesus' friends, we know the Father's business. Knowing the Father's business does not mean on the intellectual level (the heathens know what the gospel message is and how Christians spread it ), but on a heart level sharing with Christ and His mission, co-laboring with Him and believing in the word of God, Christ Himself wholeheartedly.
Through my marriage, I had come to learn further what it means to be a friend and to give up one's life by dying to oneself for one another. It is the like-mindedness that creates an awesome marriage. Yes, at times, there are some disagreements - we are humans and that happens, but those times, with the guidance of God, that brings us into abiding in Him and in each other - those are the times that I learn more about what it means to abide in Christ, share in His mission, and die to oneself just as Christ died for us. Indeed, we can walk together as one because we both are Jesus' friend and through that friendship, we agree with one another in Christ.
Reflection Questions
- What does friendship mean to me?
- What does friendship mean according to God's word?
- How can I become a better friend of Jesus and show Him that I do appreciate His friendship?
- How can I share in His mission, the Great Commission?
- How can I increase my heart for the Father as Jesus modeled?
- How can I love others as I love myself in the way Jesus modeled?
Copyright 2011 by Christenstein
Comments (4)
I like this entry. And congratulations on your marriage ...
@shrek_azn - Thank you.
I was pondering that Amos verse earlier today. True Christian friendship must start and end w/ Christ, but too many professing Christians have dumbed it down.
@naphtali_deer - Just as Christ the Alpha and Omega of our relationship to the Father, He is also the Alpha and Omega of our relationships with others for it is only through Him that we are truly reconciled to the Father and to each other.
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