FROM SERVANT TO FRIEND
I shall not call you servants any longer, for a servant does not share his master's confidence. No, I call you friends, now, because I have told you everything that I have heard from the Father. John 15:15, Phillips.
A servant is locked into a very distinct relationship with his master. And it is not an enviable one! The master bears final authority over the life of the servant, commanding his every action. The master has the power to reward obedience and to punish disobedience.
The servant, then, views his master primarily with fear and servile intimidation. He does not expect to share in the inner soul of the master--to know his thoughts or goals. He is sure that the master cares not one whit to share his own deepest thoughts with someone so insignificant as a servant.
The master/servant relationship exists entirely for the benefit of the master. It is not expected that the servant will grow or benefit from it. It is a dehumanizing, humiliating posture for the servant. One could hardly respect a master for imposing it upon another human. And yet, almost without exception, the people to whom Jesus was speaking viewed the Father as a stern master and themselves as the trifling servants. They saw themselves, by the very order of things, to be locked into the master's displeasure.
So Jesus dared to challenge them to break the grip of that misunderstood relationship. Though they could but barely grasp the meaning at the time, He invited them to enter into a friend/friend relationship. As proof of His serious intentions, He reminded them of how intimate and vulnerable He had been in sharing with them the richest treasures of His heart--something that would never happen in a master/servant relationship!
Friends look toward each other in mutual regard, each desiring the very best for the other. Remember, it is the Creator of the universe, speaking to His sin-damaged creatures, saying in effect, "I refuse to play one-upmanship with you. I do not want you groveling in front of Me as frightened servants. I want us to enjoy each other as friends, so that I can keep teaching you marvelous things about our Father."
Dear reader, do you hear our Father this day calling you from the oppression of servanthood to the joys of friendship?
I shall not call you servants any longer, for a servant does not share his master's confidence. No, I call you friends, now, because I have told you everything that I have heard from the Father. John 15:15, Phillips.
A servant is locked into a very distinct relationship with his master. And it is not an enviable one! The master bears final authority over the life of the servant, commanding his every action. The master has the power to reward obedience and to punish disobedience.
The servant, then, views his master primarily with fear and servile intimidation. He does not expect to share in the inner soul of the master--to know his thoughts or goals. He is sure that the master cares not one whit to share his own deepest thoughts with someone so insignificant as a servant.
The master/servant relationship exists entirely for the benefit of the master. It is not expected that the servant will grow or benefit from it. It is a dehumanizing, humiliating posture for the servant. One could hardly respect a master for imposing it upon another human. And yet, almost without exception, the people to whom Jesus was speaking viewed the Father as a stern master and themselves as the trifling servants. They saw themselves, by the very order of things, to be locked into the master's displeasure.
So Jesus dared to challenge them to break the grip of that misunderstood relationship. Though they could but barely grasp the meaning at the time, He invited them to enter into a friend/friend relationship. As proof of His serious intentions, He reminded them of how intimate and vulnerable He had been in sharing with them the richest treasures of His heart--something that would never happen in a master/servant relationship!
Friends look toward each other in mutual regard, each desiring the very best for the other. Remember, it is the Creator of the universe, speaking to His sin-damaged creatures, saying in effect, "I refuse to play one-upmanship with you. I do not want you groveling in front of Me as frightened servants. I want us to enjoy each other as friends, so that I can keep teaching you marvelous things about our Father."
Dear reader, do you hear our Father this day calling you from the oppression of servanthood to the joys of friendship?
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