January 23

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. — John 15:15 BSB

If we ask, “What is the best that Christ’s friendship can be to any soul?” we could answer, “It is shelter, comfort, rest, refreshment, guidance, and more.” Christ becomes like an atmosphere around us—an atmosphere of love, filled with tender influences, healthful inspirations, and holy impulses. His presence enters into our lives so deeply that it becomes an unconscious part of every heartbeat. Just as the sun’s rays enter into flowers and give them their beautiful colors and fragrance, so does Christ enter our lives, transforming us until we begin to reflect His character. “Christ, who is our life.” (Colossians 3:4) “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) “Until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19)

We know how Christ’s friendship transformed His disciples. He found Matthew a tax collector—greedy, unjust, and outcast—and made him an apostle and a Gospel writer. He found Peter rough, impulsive, and profane—and made him a powerful preacher whose influence remains today. He found John a “son of thunder,” with a fiery temper, and made him the apostle of love. Christ’s friendship did this for them, and it can do the same for us.