The Relationship

John 15:13-14 “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.”

Jesus is saying to you that the friendship, the relationship that can exist between you and Him is the commander kind of relationship. Remember, friendship is being used loosely to mean relationships. So, you can paraphrase John 15:14 to read, ‘You have a relationship with Me,

Jesus when I Am your commander.’ Jesus says you are His friend if you do what He asks of you. So, when Jesus says to you, “Turn left”, your response is, “Yes Sir.” When He says, “Turn right”, “Yes Sir.” “Buy that property”, “Yes Sir.” The Holy Ghost says to you, “Sell that crypto”, “Yes Sir.” The Holy Ghost says to you, “Begin to fast”, “Yes Sir.”

The Message translation of John 15:14 reads, “You are my friends when you do the things I command you.” It is a commander and his boy or girl relationship. That is what it is. And guess what? This is the smallest circle. Remember, depending on the season of life, the conspirator circle can be very large. The constituent circle can also be large. But the circle of your comrades is smaller. The circle of your confidant is even smaller. However, the circle of your commander is the smallest. It can even just be a dot, a very small circle. In fitness, for instance, you should have one commander. You cannot be listening to fifteen fitness coaches in your fitness journey. You will create confusion for yourself.

One coach says you should do XYZ. Another coach says you should do ZYX. One coach says to eat kale and spinach only. Another coach says, no vegetables, go on a meat-only diet. You are going to be confused in that area. Unfortunately, this is the picture of what a lot of people are getting spiritually. And they are completely confused because they are eating from here and taking from there. The person saying go on a red meat diet knows what he is saying. If you follow it by itself, you will see results. The person saying eat just vegetables knows what she is saying. If you follow it by itself, you will see results. But you cannot be here, there, and over there. You will not be consistent, and you will not get the results you want. That is how it is.

Jesus shows in John 15:13 that He is not a tyrant who is insisting that you do what He commands, or you will go to hell. No, He first earned your friendship, and a relationship with you by laying down His life. Jesus has proven His loyalty and earned His stake in your life. Now it is your turn to obey Him. And for you to come into a relationship with Jesus, you must obey His commands. If you want Jesus as your commander, you have to surrender to Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I surrender to You, and I will do what You command, in Jesus Name. Amen!