Our topic this month is our identity with Christ. Jesus has decided that you are his friend. Identification with Christ first of all means that he has identified himself with us. He has chosen to have a deep and profound relationship with us. He has counted us to be his friends. But how deep is this friendship? It is as deep as death.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
What is the motivation behind the reality that Christ has identified with us, and God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has identified us with Christ? Friendship is the answer. Friendship means an enjoyment and positive regard for the other person. Friendship means a desire to be in the friend’s presence.
How deep is this friendship? So deep it can lead to the sacrifice of the Son of God’s human life and separation of the Father from the Son. Two very emotional terms are in verse 13: love and friendship. Love implies a passionate delight in the person loved, and friendship emphasizes the desire to be in the presence of the friend. The proof of the depth of the friendship and love for us was sealed by the death of Christ.
