# 10: He Calls Me His Friend

📖 “I no longer call you servants… Instead, I have called you friends.”  John 15:15

Scripture gives Jesus many majestic titles. Lord. Savior. Redeemer. King. Son of God. Yet there is one title He gives to us that is almost impossible to grasp. He calls us friends.

Servants obey without full understanding, but friends are welcomed into confidence and counsel. Jesus brings us close. He opens His heart. He shares with us what the Father has revealed to Him. This is relationship, not distance. Invitation, not mere duty.

A friend is someone who knows you and still draws near. Someone who values you, walks with you, listens to you, and stands with you. Someone who trusts you enough to share their intentions and invites you to trust in return.

That the eternal Word, the One who holds all things together, would speak to people like us and say, “You are My friends,” is astonishing. It humbles me. It steadies me. It fills me with gratitude and wonder. Wow!

This is why I love Jesus.

❤️ He calls me His friend.

1️⃣ I love Jesus because His friendship is intentional.

Jesus does not drift into friendship with His disciples. He declares it plainly.

“I have called you friends.”

This is not casual, not sentimental, not accidental. It is deliberate and deeply personal. Jesus befriends us with full knowledge of our weakness and flaws. He is not ashamed of our limitations. He does not withdraw when we struggle. His friendship is anchored in grace, not in our performance.

Throughout decades of leadership, ministry, and professional engagement, I have found that responsibility can be heavy. You may have many people around you yet still experience moments of deep inner aloneness. In those moments, the words of Jesus have brought profound peace. I am not alone. The King of the universe calls me His friend.

I love Jesus because His friendship is not accidental. It is intentional and freely offered.

2️⃣ I love Jesus because His friendship is honest and transparent.

Jesus continues,

“Everything I learned from My Father, I have made known to you.”

True friendship requires trust. It is the sharing of one’s heart. Jesus does not keep His purposes hidden. He reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom. He explains His parables privately to His disciples. He warns them of trials ahead. He clarifies His mission. He speaks truth with clarity and tenderness.

In Scripture, we see Him pulling His disciples aside to explain what others could not understand. He invited them into His inner circle. He gave them access to His thoughts, His griefs, His joys, and His future plans.

In my own walk with Christ, I have experienced this honesty many times. When searching for direction in seasons of assignment, leadership roles, or personal transition, there were moments when Scripture spoke straight to the need of the moment. Sometimes it was a gentle correction. Other times it was encouragement, assurance, or a clear step forward. I knew it was the voice of a Friend.

I love Jesus because He shares His heart openly with those He calls friends.

3️⃣ I love Jesus because His friendship is sacrificial.
Jesus grounds His friendship in the greatest love imaginable.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

His friendship is not emotional warmth. It is sacrificial love. He gave His time, His teaching, His compassion, His presence, His prayers, and ultimately His life.

Human friendships, even the best ones, have limits. They cannot carry every burden. They cannot always be present. They cannot always understand. Jesus can, and Jesus does. He proved His friendship with the cross.

Brennan Manning, in The Ragamuffin Gospel, wrote that the wonder of the gospel is this, the God we betray still calls us His beloved. That is the heart of Christ’s friendship. It is steadfast. It is costly. It is given long before we deserve it.

I love Jesus because His friendship is written not only in words, but in blood.

4️⃣ I love Jesus because His friendship transforms me.

Friendship changes us. We grow to resemble those we walk with.

In Acts 4, observers said of Peter and John, “They recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

The friendship of Jesus transforms us in countless ways.

• His courage makes us courageous.
• His compassion softens our hearts.
• His wisdom shapes our decisions.
• His humility moulds our character.
• His strength steadies us.
• His holiness purifies us.
• His love teaches us how to love others.

I love Jesus because His friendship helps me become who I was created to be.

5️⃣ I love Jesus because His friendship is faithful and eternal.

Earthly friendships change with time, distance, seasons of life, or the realities of human limitation. Some friendships deepen, others fade, and others end unexpectedly. But Jesus does not change.

He says,

“I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20)

“Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

His friendship remains in seasons of strength and in seasons of weakness.

It remains when I succeed and when I stumble.

It remains when I am confident and when I am uncertain.

It remains through transitions, losses, and new beginnings.

I love Jesus because His friendship is the one relationship that remains constant, secure, and everlasting.

🎵 My Worship Response
The hymn for today is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Its opening lines capture the wonder of Christ’s friendship,
“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.”

This friendship is not distant. It is freedom, which is why “No Longer Slaves” becomes a fitting confession. We are no longer bound by fear, because the One who calls us friends has redeemed us and made us His own.

And with Israel Houghton we can echo the joyful affirmation, “I am a friend of God.” The God who rules the universe hears us, carries us, and walks with us every day.

Together these songs draw my heart to worship the Friend who saves, frees, and stays close.

🙏 Lord Jesus, thank You for calling me Your friend. Help me walk closely with You, listen attentively to You, and grow daily in the companionship of Your presence.

✨ Reason #10 Why I Love Jesus

He calls me His friend, intentionally, honestly, sacrificially, redemptively, and eternally.