The fruitfulness of friendship
I have called you friends. – John – 15:15We never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we abandon in every
particular. Self-surrender is the most difficult thing-‘I will if. . .!’
‘Oh well, I suppose I must devote my life to God.’ There is none of the
joy of self-sacrifice in that.As soon as we do abandon, the Holy Ghost gives us an intimation of the
joy of Jesus. The final aim of self-sacrifice is laying down our lives
for our Friend. When the Holy Ghost comes in, the great desire is to lay
down the life for Jesus; the thought of sacrifice never touches us
because sacrifice is the love passion of the Holy Ghost.Our Lord is our example in the life of self-sacrifice-“I delight to do
Thy will, O My God.” He went on with His sacrifice with exuberant joy.
Have I ever yielded in absolute submission to Jesus Christ? If Jesus
Christ is not the lodestar, there is no benefit in the sacrifice; but
when the sacrifice is made with the eyes on Him, slowly and surely the
moulding influence begins to tell.Beware of letting natural affinities hinder your walk in love. One of
the most cruel ways of killing natural love is by disdain built on
natural affinities. The affinity of the saint is the Lord Jesus. Love
for God is not sentimental; to love as God loves is the most practical
thing for the saint.“I have called you friends.” It is a friendship based on the new life
created in us, which has no affinity with our old life, but only with
the life of God life. It is unutterably humble, unsulliedly pure, and
absolutely devoted to God.