Do you feel close to Jesus right now?
Do you have someone you’re close to? I mean super-close, but not your spouse. I do. Over the years, I’ve grown really close to some of my band members. We’ve been through a lot together, travelling the world, sharing highs and lows. It’s been nothing but a joy, a comfort, and a privilege to have them muddling through life with me.
It makes me wonder: did Jesus have that kind of friend as well? If so, He never said so explicitly. But someone else did, in a way: John. Now, we’re not talking about John the Baptist, but John the disciple, the evangelist, the writer. Or, in his own words: “...the disciple whom Jesus loved…” (John 13:23).
Quite something to say about yourself, right? Yet John, at the very least, believed this was how Jesus saw him. Maybe he was Jesus’s closest friend. Or maybe, of all Jesus’s friends, he simply understood Jesus’s love most deeply. In The Chosen, we can see their relationship develop and slowly transform John.
What if Jesus’s love is not just something you receive, but something that shapes your entire identity?
That’s what seems to happen with John. If he has anything to say about himself, anything to lean on, it is this: Jesus loves me, and I am close to Him. Closeness became John’s superpower. By coming close, feeling close, and staying close to Jesus, he became exactly that: the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Is closeness your love language as well? Maybe you're a bit like John. You can find out by taking our Character Quiz. I sincerely hope you like the outcome. But either way, I can promise you this: it just might bring you closer to Jesus.P.S. Have you been following this email series and thinking, “I want to choose my own The Chosen character”? Good news, you can! Jump straight to the overview page and discover all the characters.
