The Freedom of Friendship

Chosen to Love

Scripture Reading: John 15:12–17

“I have called you friends.” — John 15:15

As we stand at the doorway of a new year, our peace is often shaped by what we can see and measure—circumstances, outcomes, and expectations. Yet Jesus offers a joy that does not depend on what is visible or predictable. He tells us that His desire is that His joy may be in us, and that our joy may be complete (John 15:11). This joy flows from abiding in Him, from lives intertwined with Christ so deeply that we are no longer tossed about by changing fortunes. Rooted in the Vine, we discover a steady wholeness that holds us firm through both hardship and ease.

This joy expresses itself in love—“that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Jesus’ love is not abstract or sentimental; it is self-giving and concrete, willing even to lay down its life (John 15:13). The love we are asked to share is not something we must create from our own limited resources, but a gift we first receive. As we abide in Christ’s love, it begins to overflow naturally into listening, helping, forgiving, and giving—often in quiet, ordinary ways.

What makes such a life possible is Jesus’ astonishing declaration: “I do not call you servants any longer… I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Friendship with Christ does not depend on physical sight, perfect understanding, or emotional certainty. Helen Keller, blind and deaf from an early age, spoke of her faith with simple clarity when she said, “I know Him because I love Him.” Her words remind us that knowing Jesus is ultimately a matter of the heart. As the year unfolds, we are invited to release the need to prove our worth or grasp for control, and instead to abide—living as friends of Christ, rooted in His joy, shaped by His love, and resting in his peace.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for calling us Your friends. Teach us to abide in Your love beyond what we can see or understand. Shape our hearts by Your joy and grace, that we may love one another as You have loved us and bear fruit that endures. Amen.