I No Longer Call You Servants

Someone found my site with this string: "why did Jesus call them his friends instead of servants."

Now there's a question that deserves an answer. Why did Jesus tell His disciples they are His friends? In what context was He speaking?

Us? Friends with God?

John 15:9-20

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. 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. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

I'll try to contain myself, as this is one of my favorite passages (the whole of John 15), and focus on the question the searcher was asking.

Jesus Himself tells us why His disciples are His friends, very simply: "A servant does not know his master's business....everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

What makes anyone a friend of anyone else? Intimacy. Sharing. Relationship. Jesus chose to share with His disciples the keys to understanding the promised Kingdom and the Good News of cleansing and eternal life.

I don't know about you, but I find it emotionally overwhelming at times. The God of the universe, who made everything that is and who was, is, and is to come, wants to be...my friend?

The danger of being too familiar with so awesome a God, or of profaning a Name that should be revered, is always there; in a society where people freely use God's name in all the latest expletives, I don't think that should be overlooked. God isn't our "buddy," and despite the popularity of the T-shirt, Jesus is not our "homeboy." Sorry. And it's tantamount to blasphemy to be familiar with the Lord in that way, because it lacks respect and awe that He deserves. We are clay, and we have no agency apart from what's been granted to us by the Potter.

With that said, though, we have to consider the equally awesome fact that God openly declares His desire for intimacy with us. If you serve the God of Israel, the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you don't need to go to a priest, and you don't have to wait for the chosen Levite to walk to the Holy of Holies once a year. He wants to love, forgive, and embrace you right now.

He talks about obedience in this passage, too--and I love that, because it demonstrates yet again that you can't separate discipleship from submission and obedience--but notice that it's not really a blind obedience. Jesus has shared with His followers what the Father has showed Him. He had walked with His disciples daily, teaching them, showing them God's will, both for His own life and for the Kingdom that had now come. And in that same way, He walks with us now:

Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Once again, obedience is emphasized in connection with discipleship. And Jesus' promise to be WITH THEM to the end couldn't be clearer.

There's something that is so sweet and tender about the words "friend of God"--like the feeling of joyous disbelief you have when you realize your Beloved loves you back. I can hardly believe He wants me...much less that He wants to be my friend.

But then again, who am I to doubt what He declares?

Some (Quite Random) Thoughts on the Workplace

Disjointed, possibly nonsensical thoughts follow. Sorry.

1. The more women try to act like men, the more their own desires and purposes are thwarted and frustrated. Do I think it's okay for a woman to be in the workplace? Yep--I'm here. But "working woman" doesn't have to translate to "man." Have women not figured this out in 50-plus years?

2. Which reminds me. Do you remember those horrible working-gal blouses from the 1980's with the hulking bow at the neck? Ack.

3. Which reminds me. Was I the only little girl who had no idea why the three ladies in 9 to 5 were laughing so hard when they smoked their, um, cigarettes? What a bizarre movie that was, in retrospect.

4. Do young women who show up for interviews think they are dressed appropriately when they are showing cleavage and/or skintight shirts and/or low-slung pants?

Okay, that's not fair of me. I actually do think they believe they are "dressing up," and that their attire is appropriate. These are sweet, studious girls we're talking about. They have no idea how they look to professional workers. Their attire, though pitifully wrong for the office, is their interpretation of what they see in Cosmo and Glamour. Can I really fault them for how they're dressed when neither their mothers nor their fashion mavens have taught them differently? Not in my heart of hearts.

As they get older, many of them will be better able to recognize and implement their own taste and style, and they'll be equipped through experience and observation to dress appropriately for the workplace (and everywhere else).

I hope.

But when I see them, and then think of some of the get-ups I sported (feeling quite grown-up and attractive, mind you), I wince, and I can't help but believe that the passage of time will--for some of them, at least--bring a change for the better.

hometown victories

It's so strange to be in a college town again--and not be a student. Make no mistake: I am GLAD. Ah, the freedom of walking on North Campus without a test lurking in the shadows, without a paper glaring from the sidelines, without a professor breathing down my neck (no offense to you, Dave Black!).

A college town is such a beautiful thing without, you know, being in college.

I'm mostly joking; I loved many things about being a student. I've always loved to learn. Thank God school didn't completely kick that out of me.

One of my friends wondered why I wanted to come back to Athens. For her, she said, it would feel like a step backwards. I don't know why I don't feel that way too; some of the very worst days of my life were spent here, times that I don't talk about often, but that still grip my throat in a vise of grief and pain when I remember them. This town seemed menacing and dark when I was first saved--the dirt was only freshly washed off my soul, and I recognized the same grime everywhere I looked. I longed for a clean place.

Yet this is the town where I met Ryan; where I first cut my hair as short as Gem's; where I came to really know Jesus Christ; where I prayed with friends and strangers on campus; where I was baptized in the Holy Spirit; where ice cream at Hodgson's is still twenty-five cents.

I consider it a personal victory--won by the blood of Christ--that I can walk these streets in perfect freedom rather than hellish bondage. This town has seen me go from the filthiest rags to the glimmering wings of a New Creation.

Maybe that's why it feels like a Hometown.

Update and Big Sigh of Relief!

One of these days I'll actually get back to, you know, POSTING REGULARLY again instead of throwing out desperately-typed updates here and there.

We're all moved in here in Athens, GA. Home of UGA, the tree that owns itself, the Mean Bean, and, of course, me.

In so many ways this place is home. I love the buzz of the cicadas, the tall antique-looking lightpoles that line the rolling green hills, the grandfatherly oaks of North Campus, the intersection of College and Clayton (the heart of Athens, really)...I could go on and on. (Do NOT say, "Yeah. Obviously.")

As you may be able to tell, I am happy to be here!

I got a job. (!!!) I have to go right now, but I'll be sure to log on again tonight or tomorrow to tell you more.

Just Saw This and Couldn't Resist

Okaaaaaay...

This excerpt is from this MSNBC article (if you want to call it that).

"Jessica Simpson is telling some Christians to take a walk.

A group called The Resistance has accused Simpson of looking like 'a stripper' in her video for “These Boots Were Made for Walking.' In the video, the Dukes of Hazzard star washes a car while wearing a barely-there bikini.

But Simpson, a pastor’s daughter, says that sort of attitude is why she didn’t pursue a career as a Christian singer. 'It didn’t really surprise me because I grew up with a lot of that backlash,' Simpson said, according to World Entertainment News Network. 'That’s why I didn’t end up going into the Christian music industry. I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there.'"

What in this passage causes me to be chagrined? Let me count the ways. Oh, wait, I already did that in this post.

But beyond the "Judge Not, Dude!" troubles, we also have the problem of total ignorance of any resemblance of STANDARDS when it comes to acceptable ways to dress--acceptable ways for you to live your life--and still follow Jesus Christ. Note that Jessica is a pastor's daughter who has apparently dealt with, in her words, "a lot of backlash." Could there possibly be a reason, Jessica, that people in your life have been concerned about your use of sex appeal to further your career?

Call her words gnosticism, or NEO-gnosticism, and be done with it. In true, Biblical Christianity, the body and spirit are not separate (in the sense of our actions having nothing to do with our life in Christ). On the contrary, what we do says everything about where we are with the Lord. When we sin, we have an advocate with the Father--praise God! But we have to, we are commanded to call a spade a spade. We may NOT wink at sin, pretend not to know what it is when we see it, in the name of tolerance. It's patently unbiblical.

There are MANY neo-gnostics in the church today who are ready and willing to line up with Ms. Simpson's philosophy. Which side are you on?

Grand Canyon Pictures

The Grand Canyon, AKA the Great Sauna with a View 

A Grand Canyon resident, taking his afternoon stroll 

Grand Canyon View 

Taking Leave of CA

In California we lived VERY NEAR the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (within easy walking distance). I cannot believe that any of the other Presidential Libraries could possibly be more beautiful--or, as Elizabeth Bennet might say, "more happily situated."

If you ever get the opportunity, do visit the RRPL. It's beautiful, and even if you're not much for politics (like me), the grounds alone are worth it--and are free for the gazing.

The "neighboorhood" picture was indeed the one we had the pleasure to (too expensively) reside in.

Looking back over the neighborhood 

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library 

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library grounds 

Ernest and Bread for Life

Above you'll find a picture of one of our dearest friends and brothers in the Lord: Ernest Ehabe. Ryan spent three weeks in Cameroon and Nigeria with Ernest before we married in 2000. Ernest's ministry, Bread for Life, is linked on my sidebar, and I urge you to check it out (not just because my husband did the programming for the site a few years ago!).

Ernest's calling is two-fold: he divides his time between the US, where he disciples and encourages international (primarily African) students, and Cameroon, West Africa, where he is involved in numerous endeavors to share the gospel while meeting the very great physical and social needs of the wonderful people there.

Through the hand of our Almighty God, with a total budget of less than $80,000 last year, Bread for Life helped plant nine churches, held much needed medical outreaches (in the course of which every patient personally heard the gospel), and founded a school that not only educates the local children but provides a meal that for many of them is the only one they'll have that day.

It has been a tremendous blessing for us to know that every penny given to BFL is so well used--American dollars go so far in Cameroon. What an opportunity we have to minister to our brothers and sisters in need!

Our friend Ernest 

Update and a Little Thought from Luke 17

Thank you for all of your prayers, and for checking on me. I think this may be the last chance I get to update you guys before we move--the big truck will haul our possessions away on Wednesday, and we're heading out Thursday. I'll do my best, though, to stay in hotels with a good wireless connection (heh) so that I can upload pictures of the cross-country move.

Ryan got the job he interviewed for in San Francisco (the job is in GA; the headquarters are in SF--just to clarify), praise God! So we are not heading home to an uncertain future. We've lined up an apartment. Now I just have to find a job...

I was reading in Luke 17 today, and this passage struck my heart:

Luke 17:7-10
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

I think we hear more often about this passage, perhaps:

John 15:15
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.

ACK! What is this? A contradiction? Are we friends or servants?

We are both.

I think, though, that in our culture and our day, we're more comfortable with Friend Jesus than Master Jesus. Paul reminds us:

Rom 6:16-18
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

We are friends of Jesus who have the privilege of knowing the Master's business. Praise God! But we are also slaves, because as Creatures, though we have a measure of free will, we are either slaves of sin or of righteousness. Despite Satan's lies to the contrary, we cannot be "gods" who are independent of sin and redemption. We need Jesus, because without Him we are hopeless slaves of sin, without remedy.

And the slavery to righteousness is a joyful, freeing experience, borne out as we obey the One we were created to adore and serve:

Matthew 11:29-30
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Some Reflections on My Day with Rachel

Well, okay, not my DAY. My several hours with Rachel and her adorable children C and LT (please see pictures below).

I think I remarked to Amy when we met that this kind of meeting is surreal for a very literary reason: reading blogs, IMing and e-mailing are textual and graphic. I've been reading the lives of these friends I've made over the Internet--though it's an interactive reading experience, and though our intimacy and connection are real, it's not like we see one another every day.

So when I met Amy, and when I met Rachel today in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, I felt like one might feel if Elizabeth Bennet stepped out of the pages of Pride and Prejudice and began walking down the lane with you and talking about the minutiae of life. It's surreal and wonderful: these people whose photographs I've seen, for whom I've prayed and with whom I have spoken almost daily (in Rachel's case), are living and breathing and grinning in front of me.

We had a wonderful time.

The moment I spotted Rachel and her two kids walking in my direction, I have to tell you that tears came to my eyes. When I looked at her and we hugged each other tightly, I felt like we were old friends who'd known one another forever, and this was just a reunion.

Yet one more thing that makes me long for heaven. I believe with all my heart that this was just a small demonstration of the recognition we will have of one another on That Day, even if we've never met before.

Meeting Rachel in San Francisco

Munchkins at the beach..."WHY do we have to go ALREADY?" 

At the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco 

Windows to the soul 

Another Auspicious Occasion!

I am extremely (almost ridiculously) excited to report that I am going to meet Rachel in San Francisco!

YAY!!

Ryan and I are going to be there for the weekend while he interviews for a job in Georgia (please pray!).

If you aren't familiar with Rachel's work, you should be. Her blog is generally about her everyday life--and like few blogs with such content, she manages to be witty, thought-provoking, and endearing, without fail. I count her among my dearest friends, and I don't just mean online. You can read more about Rachel here.

I can't wait to report to you about our meeting.