To be a servant of God and neighbor is what Jesus holds up for us, until today. According to Jesus, “…servants don’t know what the Master is doing.” But now, “I have told you everything,” Jesus says. That means we are now his “friends.” Being friends with Jesus changes everything. It moves us from obedience, as necessary and honorable as that is, into a shared-ness with Jesus. Being friends is about mutual compassion and shared responsibility. Being friends is about not needing to be browbeat, shamed or threatened into behavior. Being friends is about focusing our agency of our own volition on Jesus’ priorities because we want to be beside our friend. Being friends is about delight in the deep connection. Being friends is not about taking up behaviors so we can win the title “good person.” Many of us have asked Jesus in prayer during this pandemic for many things, as we should, but what do we want to give Him in this pandemic? We sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus…,” but would Jesus sing what a friend I have in (insert your name here)________________?
For People with Bishop Rob Wright
The podcast expands on Bishop’s For Faith devotional, drawing inspiration from the life of Jesus to answer 21st-century questions.