Skip to Main Content
Women of the ELCA
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
  • Ministry & Action
    • Discipleship
    • Justice
      • Human Trafficking
      • Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
      • Racial Justice Advocacy
      • Racial Justice Advocacy Network resources
      • Domestic Violence
    • Membership
    • Stewardship
      • Thankofferings
      • Faithful Friends
      • Katie’s Fund
      • Gift Planning
    • Special Initiatives
      • Rachel’s Day
      • Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls
    • Scholarships
      • Lutheran laywomen
      • Lutheran Ordained Ministry
  • Resources
  • About
    • History
    • Executive Board
    • Staff
    • Get Involved
  • Events
  • Belong
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
« Back to All Daily Grace

Friends with everyone

5.21.2019
|
Daily Grace

The more I mull the word “friend,” the more I wonder whether it’s so familiar to us that we’ve lost a sense of how powerful this word (not to mention this relationship) is when we use it for Jesus.

In John 15, Jesus called us “friends.” And it’s shocking how intimate that is. Love is a component of friendship as far as Jesus is concerned. Jesus says that we are to love one another as he has loved us. Jesus redefines who our friends are. Everyone is to be our friend.

Everyone. People we don’t like. People who aren’t like us. People at the borders. People at the margins. People who don’t fit into boxes, and certainly not our boxes. We are to be friends with everyone.

This message is excerpted from “Not just friends” by Anna Madsen in the March 2019 issue of Gather magazine.Today we remember Helena, mother of Constantine, who died around 330.

Do you enjoy these free Daily Grace messages? If so, donate now to further the ministry. Use the “where needed most” line.

Share this post

Sign up for Daily Grace

Daily Grace is an on-the-go companion for your journey, offering a faith reflection every day. Encounter God’s extravagant, boundless and often surprising grace by signing up for a daily email message.

Back to home

8765 W. Higgins Rd.

Chicago IL 60631

800-638-3522

[email protected]

Stay In Touch

Sign up for the WELCA Newsletter

Explore WELCA
  • Ministry & Action
  • Daily Grace
  • Resource Library
  • Events
  • Blog
  • News
  • About WELCA
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Photos
Explore Publications

Bold Cafe

A Lutheran perspective for women of Christian faith or any woman who is interested in how faith relates to the issues facing women today.

Gather Magazine

A mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith.

Cafe Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast:

Click to subscribe

© Copyright 2025 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
© Copyright 2025 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.