Jesus Chose Me to Be His Friend

From: May 9-15, 2006 Study: # 443

TOPIC: “Jesus Chose Me to Be His Friend” John 15:13-15 As the years go by we can see a world of decadence that surrounds us and we understand that we must be more careful and guard our lives with fear and trembling. We must work hard in our spiritual life so that our souls will be near to Jesus always. Let us seek to be His friend because He chose us for that. But, beloved, we can only be His friend if we do what He wants us to do. It is so easy to become distracted and live a "normal" life as others do. If we live this way, then we will only reach normal things, but if we live close to Him, as friends of a powerful God, we will see the greatness of God and we will have more faith. The more we are devoted to follow Jesus the more we will enter the deepness of God. Jesus was speaking to his disciples, the Master never had a conversation in vain just to get it over with, He always spoke straight to the heart and to all whom He spoke He left a mark, He made them understand. Jesus chose us, we did not choose Him. John 15:16 When He touches us and he reveals himself to us, it is to have communion with us. He is with us in the Holy supper because He loves us. He has called us to be his disciples, He chose us. He called us to be His friend. The friendship that He offers us is not the same that men are willing to offer Him. Many cannot have a disinterested affection towards Him. The Jews didn't receive Him. It is good when we overflow in loving God, in adoring Him. Having that narrow relationship to go before Him, not expecting anything but to say that we want to feel Him, to love him without thinking of our problems. With a passion and desire wanting Jesus to be closer, knowing that we have been able to set aside the thoughts and the problems for His friendship. Responding with a complete surrender to whom has offered to be our friend. With a disinterested affection because we don't have anything to give to Him, but to affirm that we are no longer servants but friends and wanting to know more about Heaven. A friend is someone in whom we have been able to get to know. God wants us to be his friends. But friendship has demands; we owe ourselves to that friend. That person is necessary to us and when we give ourselves to this friendship we know that we will suffer. Here on earth we have experienced friendship with other people, let us consider that God has chosen us so that we can also be his friends. Jesus has approached us and has become our friend, because He has wanted it this way. Jesus, a friend that knows us to perfection, looks at us and knows what is in us. We must do the same, look at Him and know what He wants. We must become one with Him. We have to domain ourselves to be friends and that is a difficult thing for some. Humans tend to be very selfish; they love their selves too much. But, with Jesus it is not an ordinary friendship but a strong conviction and a very great blessing. We will be His friend if we do what He sends us to do. It should not be a burden what He asks from us because after all the willingness comes from God. Philippians 2:13 Jesus is kind and friendly with us. When we walk in this world the angels see us as Jesus' friends. If we are together with Jesus as friends He will give us whatever He has in his hands. The only thing that we can offer Him is our life so that He can change it for good. There is no greater love that the one that Jesus gives us. He gave his life; He went to the cross for our lives. He gave himself unconditionally, without expecting anything from us. Mathew 26:50 Jesus had Judas for friend and Judas didn't know it. He betrayed and gave away his friend to die. When we don't do what Jesus says we are rejecting Him as a friend, it is as if we were selling Him the same way Judas did. It is treating our friend badly, the one that knows all our intentions, who was there forming us in our mother’s womb. A friend is not betrayed. Jesus was Judas’ friend but Judas gave Satan an opportunity. Judas knew the Father's secrets; he knew about the power that was in Jesus because he had seen it in the intimacy. But, Judas had already broken his friendship with the Lord. That disciple lived a lot for himself; he didn't understand what friendship was, although for certain it must have hurt when Jesus told him: "Friend, why do you come? Judas looked for Jesus out of interest, which is why he sold Him. Judas had no affection of friendship for Jesus. Judas wasn’t able to love Jesus like the other disciples did. Jesus gave his life for us; He made a difference in us. He suffered what was meant for us, He filled everything so we would not lack anything. It is difficult for man to do what He tells us to do because we like pleasing ourselves, our ego, and vanity. But, our friend sends us. He separated and chose us. Our friend gives us instructions and there are tears in us, but He will reward us. Let us demonstrate to the world that we are Jesus’

friends by doing what He asks us for the well being of those that surround us. That friend tells us what the Father has planned for us before the foundation of the earth. He chose us so that we would be friends, not servants. As a servant to his master, he must incline his head because he is superior. To our friend we lean our heads and He gives us courage when we most need it. From a servant it is expected for him to complete the task that has been commended. Among friends there is personal trust. Beloved, why don't we love Him as He deserves? Let us be friends, to our friends we reveal the plans of the future, what will happen. We have to let everybody know that we are Jesus’ friends, that we are chosen. With our testimony we tell everybody that we are friends. We sometimes say that we cannot carry our cross and we forget that He is who chose us. If we have stopped praying it is because we have been losing the fruit of God. A righteous cares for his life because it is a privilege to be a friend. Our flesh battles with us and wants to condemn us. Jesus exhorts us to love each other because when we stop loving, we stop being His’ friend. If we stop loving each other the devil enters, then there is no unity and there is no good. What is wrong is corrected because we have to conserve the friendship and the unity. If the devil succeeds to separate us from love he will demolish us because that is what he wants. To be a friend it is a command to love. We have to destroy our cowardice when we are fighting a battle like this one. When we leave this road we become deserters and that is wrong because we break the unity and we stop loving. To desert what is sacred is viler than to leave an army here on earth. To maintain the unity implies that when something is wrong we all have to fight, that when it is necessary to fast, we fast and the whole body unites to strengthen those who are weak. If we are friends we have to know that we have to conserve the unity. An army that wants to conquer and has a Friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, has to do what He tells us to do, which is the only thing that will let us conquer in this earth. Amen.