Home Tools for your Journey June 11

Thursday, June 11

I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
—John 15:15

One of the ways we experience our importance to another person is the level at which they will share their lives with us. At work, we oftentimes play a servant role—that is, we are expected to perform our duties and tasks, sometimes without understanding the full purpose for doing them.

The employer has the big picture—the vision for the company. What is shared with us is the portion of that vision that applies to our work. We are not, however, privy to all the ins and outs of what goes on at the top.

Even if we are the employer, we find there are others who hold information that we do not have. It might be the government, it might be our suppliers, it might be our customers themselves. We are often left out of the loop in the working and living relationships we share with others.

But those to whom we are bound in a bond of the heart share the contents of their inner selves with us. They tell us what they're thinking and feeling. They invite us into the big picture of their lives, and relate the details that go into its construction.

When Jesus had the boldness to claim us as friends, he was initiating that kind of relationship with us. Because we share that intimate relationship, we have access to the Creator of the world, we have access to the mysteries of heaven, we have access to the heart of God. To be the friend of God is to be so important that we are never left outside the holy loop.

Gracious God, give me the courage to listen to your words and let them descend into my heart until I am awakened to the wonders of heaven.