No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15, ESV)
Perhaps many would or could make the argument that golf’s greatest gift back to those who are immersed in the game, is the opportunity for friendships it creates.
If you played high school, collegiate, or club golf, you know that lasting friendships are forged in the battle with the vicissitude’s that this particular sport throws your way.
Shots that go awry, bounces that are anything but “member bounces,” elements (e.g., wind, rain, cold) that blow the outcome of your perfectly executed swing into the hazard are discouraging enough, but to have those things happen without a friend with which to commiserate is downright depressing.
The “19th Hole” is clearly more than a place to play poker or gin rummy, nor is it merely a place one gathers alone to drown one’s sorrows in “one-too-many” drinks; rather, more times than not, golfers gather to tell and listen to their stories with good friends.
Of course, it would be silly to think that friendships are only found or made at the course. However, friendships built around this game are some of the richest imaginable. Of all the gifts that come to us from above, the gift of friendships is to be cherished and guarded.
To spend anytime with Bill Rogers, one quickly discerns the value of friendships he made across the different seasons of his life. From childhood to his college days to the PGA Tour, he forged lifelong relationships with men whose names you and I only know from watching the major networks.
To call attention to the importance of friendships is not unique to the Christian faith. However, to focus on friendships among those who know and love Christ is to take what is common to mankind and elevate it to a richer and more nuanced version of what God has entrusted to us—lifelong companions with which to enjoy the journey of life.
- S. Lewis poignantly recognizes the importance of friendships when he writes, “…for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends, “You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.”
You might say, according to Lewis, having friends is one way God reveals something of himself through another. But for all the friends that the LORD has enriched our lives with, none is in the same league as the friendship he has invited us into with his only begotten son—Jesus Christ!
We who were once “enemies” are now, because of Christ reconciling work on the cross, called friends. Nothing should arrest our attention more than this. Jesus, according to Paul, died for his enemies (Romans 5: 10). In giving his life for us, his enemies, he has subsequently transformed us into his friends.
One of the obvious things about a genuine friendship is the trust factor—with a trusted friend, we are confident in sharing our deepest fears, hopes, dreams, and failures. Now that Jesus is our friend, we should not have any fear in entrusting the deepest longings of our heart with him.
Infinitely more amazing, this text reminds us that Jesus intends to reveals the Father’s heart and plans to us. That should boggle our minds! Indeed, “what a friend we have in Jesus!
Prayer: Jesus, take us deeper and deeper into our awareness of what it means to be called your friend.