️FRIENDSHIP = JESUS LOVE ️
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command… Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” - John 15:12-15, NLT
In our human minds we misunderstand and misinterpret love in so many ways. We attach conditions or expectations—“I love you if you do this,” or “I love you therefore you have to do that.” Jesus clearly wants to emphasize that he is calling us to a higher understanding—an unconditional love that is simply the Presence and Power of God flowing through us and joining us together in one creative spiritual energy of infinite possibility.
Also, note that we are commanded to love each other in the same way Jesus loved us, so I cannot help but think there is a measure of Jesus in the making of new friends. As you open your life to new people doing this Lent season, let these simple ideas help you transform a mere acquaintance into a true friend. Glory to God!
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, teach us to love others the way You first loved us. As we build relationships with others, let them see You in the extent of our generosity, the authenticity of our kindness, and the depths of our love. All of those things are only possible through You, the God who abides with us and calls us friend. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray and declare that it is so! Hallelujah and Amen!