Jump Start # 2920
Isaiah 41:8 “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend.”
My friend Abraham. This thought is also found in the book of James. The direction is not from Abraham to God, but the other way around. It’s from God toward Abraham. If you were to ask God, “Do you have any friends?” His answer would be, “Abraham.” “Abraham is My friend.”
You and I like friends, need friends and spend time with our friends. Facebook is wrapped around your contacts called “friends.” When things go south, someone gets “defriended” on Facebook. Lets take a moment and chase some ideas about God’s friends.
First, it would be easy for us to assume on this high spiritual level that God is above friends and has no need for friends. It would not be a stretch for us to imagine that the relationships in the heavenly are so different than down here that friendships do not exist there. But that’s not so. God has friends. Abraham is one of them. Now, Abraham and God could not go to the park and play ball. They could not go to a movie together. They would not even go out to eat. Those are the things we do with our friends. The friendship God had with Abraham was built upon and around the trust and faith that Abraham had for God. God included Abraham in His promises. Abraham listened and obeyed God. That was the beginning foundation of their relationship.
Second, God doesn’t get lonely. Long before there was an Abraham, God was doing fine. Before the creation of the world God was getting along just fine. We are the ones who need friends. Loneliness is part our world. Our friends can help us be better or they can pull us down. The choice of friends has much to do with our spiritual journey and our spiritual wellbeing. Not so with God. The friendship God had with Abraham was a relationship which the Lord could help Abraham much, much more than anything Abraham could do for God.
Third, true friends help each other spiritually. They will warn, point things out and try to get the other to step it up with the Lord. That’s what friends do. Seeing a friend drown in alcohol, flirt with someone he is not married to, get sloppy in his morals, and yet not say anything or do anything is to really question the level of friends that they are. God helped Abraham. God tested Abraham’s faith. God blessed Abraham. God was good to Abraham.
Fourth, it is remarkable and amazing that among our list of friends, there at the top, number one, would be the Lord. God is my friend and I am God’s friend. That is a statement that carries layers of thought. God likes me. God calls me His friend. Our relationship with God is not business like. It’s not like what you have with your insurance man. It’s not like a school atmosphere. There the teacher instructs and helps the children, but she likely doesn’t consider the kids her friends. That is not our relationship with God. He is our friend. He knows everything about you. He has seen you since your birth. He saw you in high school. He saw you on the ball field. He saw you on stage. He heard your phone conversations. He saw your texts before you sent them. He was there when you got married. He was there when you were baptized. There has never been a moment in your life that God has not witnessed or been aware of. You hold no secrets from God. You might have secrets that your parents never knew. You might have secrets that co-workers do not know. But not God. He knows. Not only does He know, He still likes you, loves you and wants to be with you. We often feel that if someone really knew us, the true me, then they wouldn’t like us. God knows. God still wants to be your friend.
Finally, having God as your friend is the best you could ever have. There are times when you can’t have family with you. There are times when friends can’t come. Yet, you have one friend who is still there, God. And, the Lord is the greatest friend of all. He can do what do no one else can. He can open doors that seem to be closed and locked for good. He can move mountains, change the hearts of kings, stop storms and nourish the planet. The best friend you can ever have is God. If you can only have one friend, make it God. He can forgive you when others can’t. He can bless you unlike anyone else. He can strengthen you, protect you and lead you, all the way to Heaven. There is no greater friend than God.
What a friend we have in Jesus…more than a nice hymn, a powerful principle that ought to shape our lives. Abraham was God’s friend.
Are you among God’s friends?
Roger