"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 Masterpiece Theatre’s recent dramatic presentations is Downton Abbey, not dissimilar from earlier series such as Upstairs, Downstairs involving wealthy British families living in large manor houses and the servants who take care of them. The story line always seem to include at least one situation in which the formal, arms length relationship between master and servant results in lack of communication or miscommunication with unintended consequences. These are the sorts of misunderstandings and lack of real communication that rarely happen between true friends.
We believe that John 15:15 suggests that we can best get to know God through a close personal relationship with his Son Jesus Christ. As a friend, He can lovingly point us in a positive direction, help us to make changes in our lives, support us in our troubled times and find joy in our happiness. This is the comfort and understanding that a master-servant relationship just cannot offer.
Paul and Janet Oakley
