Motive
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
Can you imagine a relationship with a friend who contacts you only when he needs a favor or to say he’s sorry? That person would not be your best friend or even a close friend.
Mitch is Glenn’s good buddy. When they connect, something happens. A certain infectious spirit takes over. Their friendship reflects their history, their many experiences, their conversations, their past mountain bike rides, and their pains suffered. They know each other well and it shows when they talk. There’s passion in their voices. Both men walk away from their conversations feeling jazzed, comforted, understood, or connected in a good way. They are on the same page. They each tap into the other.
We’re afraid that too many men don’t realize they can have an even better friend-to-friend relationship with Jesus Christ. And it’s not about putting in a lot of prayer time to make that happen; there is no obligation in their meeting — that would be misunderstanding the context and purpose of the meeting of prayer. Instead, when God’s man puts prayer into the realm of interacting with God, he talks to God not only when he’s seeking relief or comfort but (more important) because God is an indispensable, intimate confidant. Just as Mitch’s encounters and experience with Glenn have earned Mitch the “first call,” so has the encounter with Jesus. The cross earned Him the right to our “first call.”
Father, you are my Lord and my friend who I enjoy being with.