Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we saw yesterday from John 15:13-15, Jesus calls us His friends. This relationship originates in Him (“I have called you friends” – verse 15). However, He also reasonably expects that this new, friendly relationship will transform our other relationships. In verse 14, He says, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Part of what Jesus commands us involves our interactions with others. For example, verse 12 says, “This is My commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.” Likewise, verse 17 states, “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” Thus, the immediate context focuses on the practical outworkings of the love of Jesus in our lives. Certainly a loving relationship must be based on truth. Proverbs 27:6 reminds us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Similarly, Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Honest interactions fulfill these commands, but in an era of on-line personas, avatars, and bots, we must be especially discerning! Bad and inappropriate relationships can be worse than worthless, for they can be damaging and destructive. In a good, genuine friendship, Proverbs 18:24a is on display: “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.” The exemplary example of Jesus must be our model.