The Friend

"I no longer call you servants... instead, I have called you friends." John 15:15 (NIV)

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I have called You many things over the years, Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Guide, and each one was true.

But I was slow to call You what You had already called me: Friend.

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A servant obeys from a distance, never quite let into the reasoning behind the command.

A friend is let in.

You have let me in, into groanings I did not know how to voice, into the Father's own heart, into a nearness servants never receive.

I called my hesitation respect.

It was actually distance, and You had already closed it long before I noticed.

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Forgive me for keeping the distance of a servant when You had already offered the nearness of a friend.

You called me friend first.

Let me finally believe it, and act like it.

Friend I never knew, let me finally walk this close to You, and stay.

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A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for calling me friend when I still lived like a servant.

Thank You for a nearness I was slow to receive.

Teach me to walk with You now the way a friend walks with a friend. Amen.

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