Friends with the CEO

“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.”

— Jesus, in John 15:15 ESV

When I graduated from college, I went to work for a large multinational company. There, I had opportunities to meet the CEO but we didn't hang out together. I understood and respected his authority but I never had inside knowledge of his thoughts, and hopes, and dreams.

If not in real life, certainly on TV, we've seen people who are friends with the boss but who don't seem to contribute in any helpful way. Either they use the friendship to coast, or they abuse it for their own selfish purposes—sometimes at the boss's expense!

What a rare and wonderful privilege it is to be a friend, under authority. This is what Jesus invites us into. We have the opportunity to know his heart and to learn from him. But always with respect for his absolute authority over heaven and earth; respect the creature should have for his creator.

And as I think about the power of friendship + authority, I also wonder about a culture that increasingly rejects authority and is losing its understanding of friendship.

When Christians don’t hold the line

I run most mornings. It's usually dark outside and, even though I wear a bright reflective vest, there's always someone who nearly runs me over. I assume they're still asleep.

Today I waited to run until the sun was up. Along the way, a teenager passed within inches of me on a bike. I know she saw me; she looked right at me. She held a perfectly straight line and I did too—so we didn't crash.

But there have been mornings when I've tripped, even fallen down. I'd have felt better if the biker had given me a little more margin.

It's something I need to remember in my relationships with others. Sometimes they may be asleep—not focusing at the moment on Christ and his kingdom. Others may have too much confidence in their ability—and mine—to hold a straight line. If one of us swerves, we're going to crash.

It's better to anticipate error and provide a bigger margin of grace.

Relating eyes to sight

Yesterday I happened to have two separate conversations about sight. First was a question I get pretty often: How do I have a relationship with someone I can't see? (Jesus, for instance). And the second was a question about Ephesians 1: What does Paul mean by 'the eyes of your hearts'?

It occurs to me that the answer to question two might also be a good answer to question one. The 'eyes of our hearts' refers to our imagination and understanding. Genuine relationship—even with people we can 'see'—is so rich with imagination and understanding (experience). It hardly depends on physical sight at all.

On this basis, we're at almost no disadvantage to Jesus' first disciples. And like any genuine relationship, the more time we spend with Jesus, the narrower the gap between our imagination and our understanding (experience).