Title

Christ’s Condition For Friendship

Scripture
You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.
(John 15:14)
Devotional
Friendship with Christ comes with only one condition, obedience. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is that friend that lays down his life for his friends. He is even the friend of tax collectors. Nonetheless, He is the Lord God, the Creator of the universe. Therefore, He can and does demand obedience. This is the condition of friendship with God. Jesus Christ is a perfect friend. He can be trusted explicitly. His integrity is without question. His loyalty is faultless and His love is perfect. It is for these reasons and more that He can say, “You are my friend if you do whatever I command you.” Do you meet the conditions of friendship with Christ? Are you a friend of the Bridegroom? Are you obedient to His commands? You can be as Abraham. He believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. You to can be called the friend of God.
Thought For The Night
“Without God we can't; without us He won't.”  Lloyd John Ogilvie, chaplain, U.S. Senate
Evening Text
John 15:14: “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.”
Looking for Answers
Evening Study Guide
Defining: “Conditional friendship” is not only wise, but just. We are rightly warned, “friendship with the world is enmity with God,” James 4:4. Friendship with God demands obedience because He is such a faithful and true friend.
 
Referencing: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us,” 1 John 3:24.
 
Applying: Remember that our obedience to Christ is a prerequisite of friendship with God. Consider, if you can have a friend that would never lead you astray or harm you in any way, wouldn’t you want to do the things that he says. Christ Jesus is such a friend and more.