Jesus Is My Friend

10 Dec Jesus Is My Friend

Read John 15:12-17
Thought for the Day: Jesus wants to be my friend!

Have you ever felt like you were able to get to know a celebrity simply by repeatedly encountering their work? Spend enough time listening to your favorite podcaster, and you will begin to develop what psychologists call a ‘parasocial relationship’. While you don’t ACTUALLY know this celebrity, the more you access what they put out, the more you may start to feel as if you are actually friends. When they make life choices, you may find yourself having strong opinions. You may even begin to think something along the lines of ‘We’d definitely be friends if we only had the opportunity to meet.’

The problem with parasocial relationships is that they are illusions. We have friends and celebrities have friends. However, celebrities don’t know us, and we don’t know them. We aren’t their friends, we’re their fans. Some people make the mistake of only being a fan of Jesus. If we become enamored with the ideas of Jesus without getting to know Him personally, we settle and miss the deep, authentic relationship Jesus wants us to have.

Let’s take a moment to be honest: Are we investing in real relationships with Jesus by spending time listening to Him and talking to Him? Or, are we simply acting like His fans? On this point, Jesus is extremely clear: “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends.” How amazing is that? Jesus wants to be our FRIEND!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David