We use the word love a lot these days. We say we love everything from pizza, to our dog, to our spouse, and even God. It’s a pretty important word for Christians since we all know that “God is love” and Jesus commands us to “love one another as I have loved you.” So we have to be like God and love the way Jesus did, but exactly what is that? Today’s gospel gives us the key.
Jesus loves his apostles. And the word he uses to describe this love is… friend. “I call you friends.” In our society which is so preoccupied with “romantic” love, Jesus offers a seemingly contradictory insight, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” To describe the “greatest love,” Jesus uses the word friend. How sad to think we often contrast this kind of relationship to romantic love with the phrase “just friends.” Being someone’s friend is the greatest gift you can give.
Even more amazing, God says he wants to be our friend. Do you have a friend that means the world to you, for whom you would literally lay down your life like Jesus said? Be thankful. Friends like that are a gift from God, a God who proved he loved us that much. If something is wrong between you and a friend, go fix it today. Give them a call. Don’t take this special gift of friendship for granted.
So you want to be like God and love like God? Be a friend. Accept God’s friendship and thank him for your earthly and heavenly friends. In the words of one of my favorite songs, “Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend.”