The Daily: Monday October 26, 2026

Scripture
"I no longer speak of you as subordinates, because a subordinate doesn't know a superior's business. Instead I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learned from Abba God." (John 15:15, The Inclusive Bible)

You Are Called Friend

On the last night of his life, Jesus looked around the table at the people who had followed him for three years and said something remarkable: "I call you friends." Not subordinates. Not servants. Friends.

Think about who was at that table. Philip, who after three years was still asking, "Show us God." Peter, who would deny him before the rooster crowed. Judas, who had just slipped out the door.

And why does Jesus call them friends? "Because I have made known to you everything I have learned from Abba God." In other words: this is what God is like. Not a distant master or a rule writer. Someone present in the middle of our lives.

The Wisdom of Solomon says God loves "all things that exist" and detests "none of the things that you have made." God cannot not love what God has created. And in Jesus, that love has a face. It sits at the table, looks into our eyes, and says, "I call you friends."

Not a cleaned-up version of you. You, right now.

Reflection Question
What would change today if you truly believed God's posture toward you is friendship?

Prayer
Lover of the living, thank you for calling me friend. Let that truth settle deep in me today, beneath my doubts and my fears. Amen.