I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you. (John 15:15) I don’t understand this verse. It seems to me that servants often know more about what’s going on than anyone else in the household. Even if they only know one small step in their masters’ business process, they know that much. But, this much of it makes sense: an average servant would not likely to be invited into the confidence of the master as the master’s friends were. The rest of it, I put down to my cultural ignorance. The issue here, however, is not how servants were not treated, but how friends were and, more importantly, that Jesus was declaring His disciples to be His friends. How does God see us? If we are walkin...
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (John 1:12) Rights “represent essential claims that individuals possess simply by virtue of being human, enabling them to develop their full potential and live with dignity. Unlike privileges, which are special advantages enjoyed by a select few, rights are universal entitlements that belong to all members of society regardless of their background, status, or circumstances.” ( What Are Rights? A Comprehensive Explanation • PolSci Institute ) We tend to assume that we have certain rights as people or as Americans, and we sometimes mistakenly believe that those rights are granted to us in the Constitution. What the Bill of Rights actually does is acknowledge rights that humans already have ...