A “No Greater Love” Kind of Friendship

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John

     Jesus said to his disciples:
     “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
     Remain in my love.
     If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
​​​​​​​     just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
​​​​​​​     and remain in his love.
​​​​​​​     “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
​​​​​​​     and your joy might be complete.
​​​​​​​     This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
​​​​​​​     No one has greater love than this,
​​​​​​​     to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
​​​​​​​     You are my friends if you do what I command you.
​​​​​​​     I no longer call you slaves,
​​​​​​​     because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
​​​​​​​     I have called you friends,
​​​​​​​     because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
​​​​​​​     It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
​​​​​​​     and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
​​​​​​​     so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
​​​​​​​     This I command you: love one another.”


​​​​​​​     When I was in sixth grade, my religion teacher gave my class the assignment to draw God. I had always been a crafty and creative kid, so my 11-year-old mind went wild as I considered all of the possibilities of what I could draw. In my excitement, I asked my friends what they were planning on drawing, prodded my teacher with questions and even consulted with my parents. After getting all of their insight, I sat down with my colored pencils and paper and began to create my masterpiece: a picture of a man standing in front of a classroom teaching young people about what it means to love. 

​​​​​​​     The next day, my class had to present our artwork, and one by one, each student stood up to show the rest of us how they interpreted the assignment. One of my friends drew a flower, because God is all around us, especially in the beautiful flowers. Another friend drew a heart, because “God is love.” Each student had a different interpretation of how they saw God, and I was blown away that we each saw God in a different way. 

​​​​​​​     Without realizing it, this assignment stuck with me as I continued to grow in my faith. Throughout high school I would ponder the great names given to God in the Bible and in the words of the saints. With each name, God was revealed to me in a greater way. Names such as Father, Rabbi, Divine Physician, Servant, Just Judge, Defender, King, Redeemer, Shepherd and Bridegroom all challenged me to see God differently, and allowed me to learn more about how He loves and cares for us, His people. By the time I got to college, I thought I had learned all I needed to know about God and His many roles within my life, but, like most times in my faith journey where I think I’m through learning, the Lord made it abundantly clear He still had more to teach me. 

​​​​​​​     During my sophomore year, my bible study leader sat our small group down and asked us a simple question: “What is your relationship with God?” I began thinking about all of the different ways I’ve seen God in the past and how they related to me - a teacher/student relationship, a father/daughter relationship, etc. We all shared our answers, and then she asked us to go deeper - “Do you see Him as a friend?” At the surface, of course I saw God as a friend. “God’s everyone’s friend, isn’t He?” I’m sure I said “yes” when I was asked if I saw Him this way and even talked about different ways I saw Him as a friend, but in all honesty, I truly didn’t understand what it meant to be Jesus’ friend. 

​​​​​​​     This question continued to burn in me even after the study was over. I kept thinking back to it and wondering why I couldn’t seem to get it out of my head. Months later, I heard this upcoming Sunday’s Gospel spoken to me, and the words pierced my heart, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends… You are my friends… I have called you friends…” To be a friend is to love unconditionally and without bounds, to be willing to die for the other. 

​​​​​​​     Hearing these words from the Gospel made me sit and truly reflect on my friendship with God. How many times have I put conditions or boundaries on my relationship with Him? The answer: too many to count. Am I willing to lay down my life for Him? The answer: That sounds terrifying. Am I willing to share my life with Him? The answer: I like my life the way it is and would rather not having to change it. After asking myself these questions, I realized that these aren’t the answers of a friend, but the answers of someone who has a lot of work they still need to do.

​​​​​​​     It sounds a little intense, but it was in coming to terms with the status of my relationship with God that I was able to truly begin pursuing a deep friendship with Him, the “no greater love than this” kind of friendship. For years I believed that God had to have all of these impressive titles and roles to make an impact on my life, but all He truly wants to be is a friend that can walk with me in every trial and triumph. Even greater, He wants me to be a friend to Him, willing to spend time with Him in prayer each day and love without conditions. 

​​​​​​​     So, this week, I ask you the same question I was asked all those years ago: How do you see God? What is your relationship with God? Do you see God as a friend? Be honest with your answers, and know there is time to grow.  

About the Author: Nicole Jones is the Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (Red Stick Catholics) at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Nicole grew up in Baton Rouge and started getting involved with ministry after experiencing a deep conversion of heart at a high school bible study at Our Lady of Mercy parish. During her time as a mass communication student at LSU, Nicole became more involved with Christ the King Catholic Church and Student Center. It was there that she felt the Lord tugging on her heart to dive deeper into ministry and apply for her current position at the Diocese. When Nicole isn’t working, she can be found spending time with her dog, Indy, and baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookies.
What food would you eat every day for the rest of your life: Serop’s Chicken Shawarma all day, every day.  
If you could eat dinner with anyone from history, other than Jesus, who would you eat dinner with: I’d host a dinner party with Pope St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta and Princess Diana. Can you tell I’m a 90’s kid? 

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .