You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 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. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. John 14:14-16
Jesus left the disciples with an important truth about their new identity, which was going to be revealed to them in the process of time. He told them that they were no longer going to be His servants but His friends. He also told them that He was going to make known to them the things of God.
This may have excited and even flattered the disciples. Being the friend of Jesus would have been a more prestigious position than just being a servant. They could have felt the extra special “click” whom Jesus wanted to associate with. In reality, the disciples did not really understand the ramification of this new identity.
Many times we do not fully understand God’s word to us. We may get very excited at the beginning when we hear God’s voice concerning our identity or receive a prophetic word, but over time we wonder about the fulfillment of that identity.
The new identity as the friend of Jesus did not transpire right away in the disciples’ lives, but this truth began to be revealed to them one day at a time starting on the Day of Pentecost. This new identity was going to build on their previous identity as fishermen of men, and it was going to upgrade the nature of their relationship with Jesus to a new level.
The idea of friendship with Jesus, would have looked very different than what Jesus had in mind. Their choice would have been to be closer and spend more time with Jesus in person, but that was not what God had in mind. Their friendship began when Jesus was taken up and when the Holy Spirit came upon them. They received the resident comforter and counselor who was going to always be with them. The disciples had to grow up fast, and as representatives of Jesus, they had to begin to think, speak, and act like Jesus. They also had to do away with their competitiveness for a superior position in Jesus’ circle and begin to work as a team.
We also have our own ideas of how this new identity is going to work out in our lives. Certain circumstances and situations that we had not imagined can cause us to get disillusioned with our identity and the call of God in our lives. However, God’s work is not limited to our understanding, and we have to be willing to go through the process with Him without fully liking or understanding the process.
The disciples’ obedience as fishermen of men had grown them to a level where Jesus was giving them more authority and heavenly privileges, but they also had greater responsibility. Now, they were supposed to continue the mission Jesus began by sharing the Gospel and making disciples of others.
I think, most of the time we claim we have faith because we are comfortable with our circumstances. However, when our faith is challenged through perplexing circumstances or uncertain future that is when its true nature revealed. The disciples’ new identity as the friend of Jesus had to develop in the crucible of an uncertain future and in the absence of Jesus. This would have seemed like an oxymoron to the disciples.
Our new identity in God will also grow when we are willing to go through the process with God and allow Him to unfold what He has spoken concerning our lives. If we are developing friendship with God, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel us one day a time and learn to depend on Him at a new level. Friendship with God is very different than friendship with people. Friendship with God requires deeper level of faith and trust in Him when everything in our carnal nature wants to oppose it.
Please don’t give up on God’s identity for you. He is working on us in ways that do not make sense in order to fulfill His word in our lives. He is faithful to accomplish it as we surrender ourselves to His process.
