Friends, not servants

“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.” John 15:15
Being called the friend of God is a great honour. In the Old Testament, there was only one man who was called the friend of God: Abraham (Jas. 2:23, 2 Chr. 20:7).
Jesus says we are no longer called servants. Servants are expected to obey their master, unconditionally, and often without being told why they are to do a particular task. They are told, ‘Clean the house’, not ‘Clean the house, because we are having a dinner party tonight.’
Don’t get me wrong, we are still to obey God. But now God includes us in what He is doing; we have the inside scoop on His plans and the bigger picture He is working towards. This provides greater motivation than simply following orders.
We now know the master’s business. What is it? Jesus tells us here that He has made it known to us – by His own example. The Father wants people to come to Him, because this is what Jesus did. The Father wants to heal people and make them whole, because this is what Jesus did. The Father wants to teach us and reveal Himself to us, because this is what Jesus did. The Father wants to befriend us – because this is what Jesus did.