How To Be God’s Friend

In the Old Testament Scriptures, one man stands out as “a friend of God”.  Isaiah writes in 41:8, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend…”.  2 Chronicles 20:7 also refers to Abraham as God’s friend.  And in the New Testament, James refers to Abraham in 2:23, “…and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”

Definition

According to the Oxford dictionary, a friend is “A person with whom one has developed a close and informal relationship of mutual trust and intimacy”.  Webster has this: “a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another”.

Abraham

Why was Abraham called God’s friend?  A close relationship!  One of my favorite episodes about Abraham that demonstrates this relationship is described in Genesis 18.  Three “men” approached him to announce that Sarah would have a child.  One of them was the Lord, according to verse 1.  

There are times in the Old Testament that God appeared in human form, called a “theophany” by theologians.  The Lord here could have been Jesus, who is “the image of the invisible God” according to Hebrews 1.  The Lord announced to Abraham the impending destruction of Sodom, where Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family lived.  Two of the men, probably angels, went on their way to Sodom while the Lord stayed with Abraham.

As they were walking along, God decided to tell Abraham his plans for Sodom’s destruction.  Abraham reacts, “Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  Then he proceeds to negotiate with God about His plans.

It’s hard to imagine, in our religious human mindsets, actually scolding God!  But sometimes friends point out things they see in each other that they may not like.  “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…” (Prov. 27:6).  Abraham’s relationship with God was such that he could honestly express his feelings to Him, even in a way that seems like a rebuke to the creator of the universe!

The Lord was not only OK with this, I think he provoked Abraham’s responses.  He knew, of course, that Abraham’s real motive was to save his nephew Lot and his family, and He wanted Abraham to intercede for them.  In the end, Sodom and some surrounding towns were destroyed, but the Lord rescued Lot and his family.

Moses and David

Moses was another friend of God in the Old Testament.  Exodus 33:11 says this: “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…”  Moses spoke with God many times, expressing his deepest feelings, frustrations, and intercessions.

David, while not specifically referred to as God’s friend, was called “a man after God’s own heart”.  We can see in his Psalms how he poured out his heart to God in a genuine friendship with the Lord.

Jesus

When Jesus entered this world as a man, He gathered disciples (students) to follow and learn from Him.  He ate with them, hung out with them, and lived life with them for three years.  On the night before his death, he expressed his friendship with his disciples, recorded in John 15:13-15.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  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.”

Forever Friends with God

The Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, invites us to hang out with him, to live life with him, and lay down our lives for him, by the Spirit.  He wants two-way, honest communication.  He makes known his “business” to us, so that we can love and obey him in all things.  

And God is not surprised or offended when we pour out our hearts to him, even whining and complaining.  It’s part of our relationship, and he already knows exactly how we feel.

God takes our friendship with him seriously.  James 4: 4-5, “…do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  

As our ultimate friend, God is jealous over us.  He wants all of our love, affection, and obedience.  He also wants our honesty.  As we learn to walk in friendship with him, and “lose our lives” for him, we gain everything!  The abundant life Jesus promised, filled with joy and purpose, in this life and forever.