“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15)
When I think of God communicating with us, I think of this verse. One of the keys to friendship is availability.
Jesus is the perfect example of availability to God. He was unreserved in his desire to hear from the Father. Read Mark 1 this week. Jesus spent the night ministering to the sick and demon possessed. It had to be exhausting. Then Mark tells us in “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.” (Mark 1:35)
You see it again in Luke 4:42 and 5:16. This was his habit. And you don’t get the impression he “found time for God.” Rather, he belonged completely to the Father.
We never see him in a hurry or “running behind.” He seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. And so he ministered to those around him spontaneously and informally. I can’t imagine Jesus staying up late on Saturday night to finish his Sermon on the Mount. His ministry was overflow from his life with the Father
I don’t know about you, but that does NOT sound a lot like me. I often find myself fitting God into my busy schedule. That’s probably why I don’t hear his voice as often as I’d like.
It’s friendship God wants. Not duty. Not spending time with him out of guilt. We have to WANT to hear his voice.
“But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Let’s talk about it this week in my final sermon in our series Vox Dei: The Voice of God.
See you in church!
