He calls me Friend.

Read Scripture

Luke 5:1-11; Matthew 14:22-33; Matthew 16:13-20; Matthew 16:21-23; John 15:15

I really love my friends. We hangout, we do fun things together, we talk about deep things, and we do a lot of life together. My friendships aren’t perfect, because I’m not perfect and they aren’t perfect, but they are good and sweet. My closest friends know all of the hard things in my life, and then we go mini-golfing or hit the beach on the weekends (depending on the season, of course).

We tend to fit Jesus into a box. He feels so close during worship time at church and when we have our Bibles open, but we don’t pay attention to how near He is to us in our day-to-day lives. We often fail to pay attention to his calming voice when we’re frustrated in class or at work, and we may forget to thank him on those really nice beach days.

Turning to scripture, we see glimpses of how Jesus walked with His disciples in deep friendship with them. In Luke 5:1-11, Peter and Jesus go fishing, and Jesus invites Peter to follow him. In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus invites Peter to take a risk, and helps him when he fails. In Matthew 16:13-20, Peter sees the fullness of who Jesus is and declares that he is the Messiah, and Jesus commissions Peter. In Matthew 16:21-23, Jesus corrects and rebukes Peter.

If we look at all of these passages between Jesus and Peter, we discover an extremely deep and fruitful friendship. Jesus is loving Peter, hanging out with him, teaching him, challenging him, walking with him, and I can imagine dealing with all of Pater’s crazy and messy human-ness. Jesus is personal with Peter. Jesus is not holding Peter at arms length, rather He is drawing Peter in deeper and closer.

When we are cleansed and washed by the blood of Jesus, he calls us friends; he is personal and close. We may have a warped view of the word friend, but Jesus is our perfect Friend. He is with you while you enjoy your hobbies, as you go to work, and he loves to teach you, challenge you, and be with you in all your messiness and craziness.

Not only does Jesus know each of us deeply, but he also desires for us to know him deeply. In John 15:15 Jesus says, “...I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” He is our perfect Friend, and we get to be his friend. We are invited into the work that he is doing because of his deep love, and his desire for a true friendship with us. He is inviting you to go deeper and to see how close he really is.

You are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved by Jesus.