MYSTERY OF FRIENDS

When Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst” could easily apply to any two or three people meeting together with the same desire to share the best things in their lives, the most serious elements of their existence. When this happens there is a divine reality that begins to exist. Friendship turns into fellowship. A friendship of trust and acceptance is assured because Christ has been invited into the circle and his presence brings a warm, gentle, sweet and liberating reality that one can find with others that is difficult to find alone. This can bring friendship to those of us who must sometimes walk difficult roads in life.

Jesus connected friendship with imparting secrets. “I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does know what the master is doing. But I have called you my friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from the Father.” Why? Because it is to a friend that one can confide secrets. Jesus did not say “brothers” but “friends.” The mystery of friends is one of clearest reflections of the love of God and perhaps one of the greatest ways to draw others to the Lord. There is a desire in every heart to have trusted friendships. So much so, that when friendships are viewed in others there can be a tendency toward jealousy and envy of such treasured relationships from those of us who do not have them. Long-term friendships will bring people closer to Jesus in the profound and glorious mystery of the God of love being exhibited.

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you.” Jesus