One Desire Fast is HMCC’s annual fast so we can start off the year hearing from God, both individually and as a church. This year’s theme is Simple Pursuit.
John 15:15 ESV “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Having learnt how Jesus is our saviour yesterday, today we will explore how Jesus is also our friend. What do you think of when the word “friend” comes to mind? For some, qualities like reliability, comfort, assurance or love may come to mind, while for others, betrayal, isolation, past hurts and insecurities. Whatever the case, our perspective on friendships can influence how we perceive Jesus as a friend, and whether we actually see Him in this light. So how is Jesus our friend?
In John 15:15, we can see that Jesus’ friendship is accessible and vulnerable. He is not a lofty Lord, looking down on us from above with crossed arms, waiting for us to meet His standards or feeling disappointed by our shortcomings. Instead, He is a personal God who is with us. We have an open invitation to develop intimacy with Jesus, to sit with Him, learn from Him, and seek His help.
Many of us might think that we know this already, but in reality we may still try to present ourselves all put together instead of being authentic in our prayer and reflection before Jesus. Our obedience to Jesus is not solely driven by simple rank-and-file following, but there is room for us to ask, to come with all of our mess, to learn more and to seek His help in understanding things when we do not. Like a close friend, He invites us to share our struggles and hardships with Him.
What great joy we have, therefore, not only that we have a saviour who is available and unconditional in His love, but a friend here with us — someone who we can run to when we struggle and can go through life’s ups and downs with. In fact, this understanding of our friendship with Jesus also highlights the importance of having intentional friendships with people of the same faith. Despite our brokenness and differences, we are called to build each other up in our LIFE Groups, or as a church community.
As we go through this fast, there may be ways we struggle to believe in our friendship with Jesus, or with other people we struggle to get along with. There may be ways our relationship with Him is driven by the compulsion to obey to earn His approval, preventing us from being honest with Him instead of being free and vulnerable. Perhaps there might be ways our friendship with Jesus affects our view of our friendship with others, as well. We also might simply be so caught up in the doing that we forgot about the abiding with Him, causing harm to us and our relationship with others. Whatever the case may be, wherever we may find ourselves, we are invited to embrace in this simple pursuit of Jesus, to experience His friendship and to invite others to know this friend who never leaves nor fails us. And as we experience His friendship, we can learn from Him and become a better friend to those around us, too.
Reflection and Application
- This past year, how have you experienced Jesus as your friend? What are some experiences that made you feel like Jesus is a distant figure? What are some patterns that you notice?
- What parts of Jesus’ friendship would you like to reflect on and understand deeper? What are some Bible verses that explain it deeper? How can you invite Him into your life?
- Jesus extends His friendship when we connect with Him personally, or also through people in our church community. What are some practical ways that you can extend Jesus’ friendship to people in our LIFE Group and those outside of our LIFE Group?
Prayer Requests – HKBU
- Evangelism: For salvations and gospel transformations in our members and the unreached on our campus.
- Discipleship: For God to multiply disciples and disciple-makers to strengthen Christ-centered discipleship relationships and friendships.
- Deeper Community: To deepen our community and for God to bring in more committed men.
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