How many friends do you have today? I mean how many close friends not just acquaintances? Some say that you only have a few close friends throughout your lifetime. Friends that you can be sincere and transparent with. There may be some reading this and you have no close friends. That can be very sad. Besides my lovely wife, I can only say I have a few close friends I can confide in. “In one lifetime, we make 396 friends. However, only 1 out of 12 friendships last.”-Factlengend.org. With Social media playing a big part in our lives how close are we really with those we interact with on these platforms? I think today people are hungering for real close friendships beyond just social media. I’ve seen at restaurants couples looking at their cell phones while eating rather than looking at each other and engaging in lively conversation. That can’t be good. No real face-to-face encounter. As human beings, we need that kind of in-your-face interaction.
Randy Newman’s “Toy Story” song-“You’ve got troubles, well I’ve got ’em too There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you We stick together and we see it through You’ve got a friend in me” Kind of gives us a sense of what a friend means today.
Hillsong –“I am a friend of God”–Who am I that You are mindful of me? That You hear me when I call, Is it true that You are thinking of me? How You Love me, It’s Amazing-Who am I that You are mindful of me? That You hear me when I call Is it true that You are thinking of me? How you Love me, It’s Amazing I am a friend of God.”
Look at this verse in Exodus 33:11 (NKJV) –11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the Tabernacle. (CRoss ref. Deut. 5:4). It was also said of Abraham that he was a friend of God. James 2:23 (KJV) –23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. So we see here that the Bible shares with us that Moses and Abraham were friends with God. They had a face-to-face encounter with God. No emails, no text messages, no Instagram or Facebook. Just face-to-face encounters. Is social media social? Is it face-to-face friendships and relationships? It’s a start but we must go deeper.
Can we really be a friend with God? Look at John 15:14-15 (KJV) –14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Imagine Jesus calling us friends. He said in John 15:14 (KJV) -14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. What a statement of how God, Jesus feels about us who follow Him. Do you see God as a friend? Someone close, someone you can talk with, someone you can confide in, someone who won’t condemn you or criticize you. Do you see God as a harsh Father figure? Someone, that you are constantly trying to please so that He will love you more? Are you trying to do all these religious works to appease God? If I just do all these things God will love me more?
How do you relate to God, as a servant or as a friend? Friends will do anything because they love their friends. Your friends are there for you through thick and thin they say. When you are up or when you’re down. They are there to listen and not just give advice. It is not out of obligation or duty. If we are Born Again and have a relationship with God we are considered His sons and daughters. We are more than just servants but friends. One of the biggest things about friendship is trust! Being friends with God is learning to trust Him with our lives. Ephesians 1:6-7 (KJV) –6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; The Greek word accepted means highly favored. God through Christ has made us accepted, and highly favored. We can’t earn God’s love. God loves us because of His grace and His goodness. We just have to receive His love by faith! This kind of love from God produces trust in our lives toward Him.
Did Jesus have friends during his time on Earth? Who was his closest friend? Well, it had to be Peter right? Maybe James or John? Maybe all three? Who wrote John 15:15-John did. John sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper leaning upon Jesus’s chest. We see only John at the crucifixion when all the other disciples run away. John 19:26-27 (NKJV) –26 When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. I think Lazarus, Martha, and her sister were also close friends of Jesus as well. John 11:5 (NKJV) –5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. I love what it says in John 12:2 (NKJV) –2 There they made Him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Imagine sitting at the table with Jesus face to face. So close you could touch His face. Sitting around a table with a friend fills life with precious memories. So much better and more fulfilling than a text message. If Jesus needed close friends so do we in this life. It is not just about serving but having a close loving relationship with Him. Check out(Luke 10:38-42 ).
King David was a man after God’s own heart. I’m sure that God and David had a face-to-face relationship. (Acts 13:22). Here is one of David’s prayers- Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)- 4 -One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. One Bible teacher expressed it this way. ” Beauty is a mysterious harmony that dazzles us when we experience it.“The word “Beauty” in Hebrew expresses it as agreeableness, i.e. delight, suitableness, splendor or grace:- beauty, or pleasantness). To behold is to gaze at; mentally to perceive, contemplate (with pleasure); specifically to have a vision of:- behold, look, see. This should be our prayer as well. God dazzle me, let me behold your beauty today. This can only come by spiritual revelation. God by the Holy Spirit reveals His love and character to you. 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV) -12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. He has freely provided salvation, healing, prosperity, friendship, purpose, and harmony, and has accepted us in Christ Jesus!
King David had a very close friend whose name was Jonathan.1 Samuel 18:1 (NKJV) -1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Again in 1 Samuel 18:3 (NKJV) -3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. This relationship that David had with Jonathan was a close one. They had much in common. Jonathan being older, was an outstanding military man, and he loved young David for his courage and his confidence in God. Jonathan saw David’s heart and it resonated with his own heart. He felt the same way David did about their relationship with God. They as friends were able to relate wonderfully with each other, as if they saw eye to eye, and understood each other’s thoughts. Their relationship was so strong that they made a covenant with each other showing their loyalty to one another. What made their relationship close was their love, faith, and confidence, in their God. Satan and the world has perverted this type of relationship to support immorality and sin.
“Some homosexuals have tried to use the writer’s statements of Jonathan’s love for David as support that their lifestyle has good biblical precedent. However, the Hebrew word ‘aheb, translated “love” here, nowhere else describes homosexual desire or activity. Rather, when homosexual relations are in view, the Holy Spirit uses the word yada, translated “know” in the sense of “have sex with” (cf.Gen.19:5; Judg.19:22, Rom 1:26 -27 ).” Constable Old Test Commentary.
Let me say that God calls us to love homosexuals but not condone their lifestyles. Just as we wouldn’t condone any other sinful lifestyle that harms a person’s life. May we have friendships like David and Jonathan, like Jesus and John. We should pray that God helps us to be good friends and that He will bring friends into our lives. Yet it does take effort on our part to be a friend.
You might ask how can we have friendships. How can we be a better friend? If you are waiting for friends to come your way without being friendly first you might be waiting a long while. Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) -24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. You can have a friend who is closer than a blood brother in your own family.
Here are some elements to building a strong friendship: Learn to be a good listener. Remember it’s not all about you every time. Learn to love sacrificially, and show unconditional acceptance. Every good friendship has healthy boundaries. Learn to give them space and respect their ideals. Don’t smother them with constant calling, sharing all of your problems. Friendship is healthy give and take. It is sharing and listening. It is mutual respect, edification, and encouragement. A friendship shouldn’t be manipulative, and controlling. A friendship is enjoying who you are as a person in Christ. In friendship, you always learn to forgive each other and have the right expectation towards each other.
How can we be a better friend to God? Being a friend of God is knowing you are loved and accepted by Him. You want to spend time with your heavenly Father. You long for His presence. You are motivated to love, serve, and obey out of love and not out of duty or obligation. Because of your friendship with God, you trust him completely. Friendship with God is knowing you are safe and secure in your relationship with Him. Free of judgment, criticism, and condemnation. There is respect, honesty, transparency, and openness. There is also the attitude of humility and dependence before Him. It is learning to mind the same things that God does. To care about the same things that God does. To be a friend of God is to be a friend of His written Word. To love God is to love His Word and to love those whom He loves. In the book of James, it tells us the wrong kind of friendship-James 4:4 (KJV)–4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4 (AMP) -4 You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
That is a strong statement! Our love, loyalty, affection, and love should be directed toward God and not the materialistic world’s system. It doesn’t mean we can’t have a fondness for nature and His creation, etc. but it should never supersede our love for God. Colossians 3:1-3 (KJV) -1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
In closing pray about all that I shared today in this post. What kind of friend are you? Are selfish and self-centered? Are you showing yourself as friendly? Are you choosing the right friends? Do you see yourself as a friend of God because of Jesus and what He has done for you? Finally, How can I be a better friend? Remember friends don’t let friends go a day without thinking and praying for each other.
In Christ Love;
Brent and Linda
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