Friend or Servant

As I look back on my old posts I am shocked that time has gone by so quickly since I have written. We have been in the midst of a move and I was on vacation. I was recently reflecting on the passage where Jesus said I no longer call you servant for a servant doesn't know what his master is doing but I call you friend (John 15:15). The Lord spoke to my heart and showed me that when I approach Him as a servant that I will not know what He is up to. A servant or a slave is only expecting to be given direction for the task at hand, not to understand and know the heart of the Father. The word "friend" used in this context is a covenant word and marks a fundamental change in our relationship to God through the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, a system of Laws given by God, your main focus is obedience to a written law. The New Covenant in Christ ushers in a whole new relationship to God but so many times were attempt to relate to God through rules, traditions, and institutional expectations rather than through the Holy Spirit who is within us (if you have been born again). I realize my mind has been programmed with ways of seeing God through this former relationship dictated by rules or internal rules that don't produce real relationship. To actually experience a friendship with Jesus is unique and fresh. I have had many experiences with the Lord but also have had counterfeits, it may have just been my own mind convincing me that the Christian platitude is really God's voice. I have more and more hunger for Him, not for platitudes, traditions, or Law. Clearly God's word to us personally does not violate His written Word and many times He speaks to us through the written Word. Will you join me on this adventure of entering into friendship (covenant) with Jesus where we will not only learn new language, a new way of seeing things, but a new way of living that produces joy and freedom. As I look at New Testament scripture I see a God who has done everything to come to us where we were and is longing for us to really know Him (not just knowing about Him). I long to know His heart and have caught many glimpses but I journey to consistently commune with Him on a daily basis, living in the reality of His love and grace. I invite you to join me on this journey, I say journey because it is an adventure instead of a perfectly scripted path. Father is always drawing His people, are we willing to hear and respond the gently touch of His Spirit.

In His Love,
Bret Rutland