We are friends and lovers...forever.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 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. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.John 15:9-17

Love characterises the Father’s relation with Jesus and Jesus’ relation with us, his disciples. ‘God is love’ is that basis for all relationships of the people of God. Now it is interesting that the language of command also appears, but as stated before the command is simple: ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’ which is a direct reference back to Jesus’ words to the disciples when he washed their feet. (John 13:33-34). Keeping God’s commandments is language familiar enough to John, to his readers from their Jewish background, and to us today, but we are not being told to keep the Ten Commandments or even a revised version of them based on Jesus’ ethical teachings. Jesus centres it all on himself and reduces it simply to love for one another.

Then Jesus offers himself as the model of love in verse 13. We are to give our lives for our friends just as Jesus has repeatedly indicated that he is going to give his life for his friends. In our case Jesus is not talking about some sort of sacrificial giving, but simply a love that is willing to risk everything, to go so far as to face danger, endure suffering and suffer death to express itself.

The love of Jesus is further revealed in that we are no longer servants, but friends. It is interesting that the Church has continually emphasised the imagery of servitude and used the language of serving and servitude in defining the Christian life. Maybe a little correction is in order and deserves some more thought. God does not want slaves...God wants companions. God did not create us to serve him...but to live in relationship with him. Knowing this should make us rethink how we see our relationship with him. We are Jesus’ friends.

But note that we have not chosen him. Jesus has chosen us. Paul reminds us that it was while we were still enemies of God that Jesus came for us. There is no room here or anywhere in Scripture for the idea that somehow, through our own good living, our own personal piety, our own strength of faith, we have drawn ourselves into an intimate relationship of faith and love with God. God has come for us. God has chosen us. God has loved us first and therefore we are now able to love him and one another in the power and strength of his love for us. This is made clear by the difficulty we face in giving our lives slowly, day by day, in love for the world.

Philip Yancy reflects on the love of God in his book What’s so amazing about Grace. He writes:

"I am the one Jesus loves."...the slogan came from the author and speaker Brennan Manning. At a seminar, Manning referred to Jesus' closest friend on earth, the disciple named John, identified in the Gospels as "the one Jesus loved." Manning said, "If John were to be asked, 'What is your primary identity in life?' he would not reply, 'I am a disciple, an apostle, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels,' but rather, 'I am the one Jesus loves.'"

So think for a moment...What would it mean if you saw your primary identity in life as "the one Jesus loves"? How differently would you view yourself at the end of a day?

There is theory in the field of sociology called “the looking-glass self”. That is you become what the most important person in your life (wife, father, boss, etc.) thinks you are. How would your life change if you truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for you? How would it change if you looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?

Philip Yancey goes on to say:

Brennan Manning tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying. Impressed, the priest says to the man, "You must be very close to God." The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, "Yes, he's very fond of me." [pp. 68-69]

If Jesus was all about perfection and holiness in the religious game -- he should have chosen the Pharisees. They were the extremely pious people in the first century. They were the ones who prayed at least three times a day. They knew their Bibles. They worked hard at obeying every one of God's laws. They fasted once or twice a week to show their religious devotion to God. They gave 10% of their income.

Who did Jesus choose? Jesus chose us -- known sinners, known to be somewhat less than perfect, known to have all kinds of problems in our lives. So you see it is not about holiness or perfection or piety or even faith. It is about love. Knowing that we are loved by God. Living in the love of God. Loving one another. And it is worth noting what happens when this love is fulfilled. Jesus speaks of joy. He affirms human joy as the fruit of divine love. Again we need a reminder about this. The goal is not a purity which is spotless and stark, morbid and serious, but joyful and joy-filled as it fulfils itself in love.

It is being filled with joy! Having life abundantly! Having fun! And loving richly!