love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes,
your joy will overflow!”^8
Notice that Jesus expects us to do only what he did with the
Father. His relationship with his Father is the model for our
friendship with him. Jesus did whatever the Father asked him to
do—out of love.
True friendship isn’t passive; it acts. When Jesus asks us to love
others, help the needy, share our resources, keep our lives clean,
offer forgiveness, and bring others to him, love motivates us to
obey immediately.
We are often challenged to do “great things”for God. Actually,
God is more pleased when we do small things for him out of
loving obedience. They may be unnoticed by others, but God
notices them and considers them acts of worship.
Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small
opportunities surround us every day. Even through such simple
acts as telling the truth, being kind, and encouraging others, we
bring a smile to God’s face. God treasures simple acts of
obedience more than our prayers, praise, or offerings. The Bible
tells us, “What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices
or obedience to his voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice.”^9
Jesus began his public ministry at age thirty by being baptized
by John. At that event God spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved
Son, and I am fully pleased with him.”^10 What had Jesus been
doing for thirty years that gave God so much pleasure? The Bible
says nothing about those hidden years except for a single phrase
in Luke 2:51: “He went back to Nazareth with them, and lived
obediently with them”(Msg). Thirty years of pleasing God were
summed up in two words: “lived obediently”!
I must choose to value what God values. This is what friends
do—they care about what is important to the other person. The
more you become God’s friend, the more you will care about the
things he cares about, grieve over the things he grieves over, and
rejoice over the things that bring pleasure to him.
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