God or Friend?
(Exodus 20:1~2a) And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage…
(James 2:23) 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.
Maybe there is something wrong with me, maybe not, I’ll let you decide. Many years ago, when my children were younger and while I would be tucking them in at night, I would see their different playthings in their bedrooms. I would always get the urge to get right down there on the rug and pull out some toy truck or crane or some building blocks, or a puzzle or whatever. Yes, sadly, I resisted the urge. But I’ve thought many times, would there really be anything wrong with that? Is there anything wrong with a grown man building a house out of blocks, or putting a puzzle together?
People say – which people I can’t say – that you shouldn’t do things like that. They say you can’t wear clothes that belong to a younger generation. For example an older man can’t wear cargo pants/shorts. ‘They’ say it just doesn’t work! A man that, say, is 80 shouldn’t wear a black leather jacket. ‘They’ say it just doesn’t work!
In the same light, they say that people from different generations can’t be friends. Shouldn’t be or can’t be, it doesn’t matter, but because ‘they say’ it’s that way it must be so. Is it? Are generations so far apart that they cannot communicate as friends? Can a high school football or basketball coach be so far removed from his players that he can’t be both friend and coach? ‘They say’ that would not be healthy.
Is it possible, that in our search for true friendship we are limiting ourselves when we don’t cross the boundary of age and stay only within our own generation?
Is it possible that in our reaching out to others we don’t realize that a person a few years our junior needs us just as much as we may need them? Call it a symbiotic relationship if you want, but people need people! Our very natures cry out for association, relationship, friendship, and social gatherings. And, well, if you believe its wrong to cross boundaries because of what might be, or what might develop, then I counter with:
(Proverbs 22:6) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Our title of this section, God or Friend? will probably raise a lot of eyebrows. Which is a good thing I believe. We need to have our eyebrows raised from time to time. It makes us take a second or third look. And, while we take that second or third look, we can look through these as well:
Attitude
Gratitude
Rectitude
Plenitude
It’s all about ‘tude.
Attitude
The tradition-packed churchgoer will tell you that we are making a mistake when we say we can be God’s friend. They will outright balk at the very idea of such a cavalier or casual relationship. Of course they are basing that on earthly relationships, such as royalty or the aristocratic classes. And, as much as you don’t want to, we still must yield to a fair amount of their argument. Because the argument, you see, deals with attitude.
With some trepidation we ply these waters of God or Friend? because there is a point, a so-called line that has been drawn in the sand, that the ‘created’ cannot cross. That line is attitude. The very word attitude itself can be interpreted as stance or position. And, as we said, there is a line that cannot be crossed, because God is still God. He is still our Creator.
But, to help us explain our position on being God’s friend, maybe it would be made clearer through an illustration. Before we start however, there is a prerequisite. As a young child I must have received proper instruction from my parents on manners and the appropriate method of communicating with elders. It’s enough to say that this method dealt entirely with wisdom, and not relegating someone to a lower class. With this proper indoctrination, a quick, “They know more than you, so hold your tongue.” should have been more than enough to convince me to be quiet. And, as I remain silent and watch and listen to the adults, I would indeed find out several things: they do know more than me; one may know more than others; and, I may see or listen to someone that I could envision becoming my mentor [someone other than my father or mother].
As we grow up, we learn more of course from our father and mother, but we learn from that mentor, too. We spend time with them, they help us to work through life’s problems. They help us in those tight spots. And, all the while, we are learning, growing and sharing. As time goes by, we attain to a certain level. We’re closer than we’ve ever been to them before. We’re not being mentored per se, yet we know we are not without their help if needed. We have reached a level, not mentally speaking but attitudinally. We’ve reached a point where they reach out to us as a friend. Yes, we know they are older, blah, blah, blah, but a friendship does exist.
Can God be like that? I believe to a certain extent, yes. I believe that after an extensive maturation process man moves into an attitudinal relationship of where we can say that God is our friend, and our God!
With royalty that would never happen, you see. With royalty, the aristocratic classes, and even some of the wealthy ‘families,’ there would always be a line that you could never cross. If you were a subject or lower class person, or simply not making as much as they do, you would not be able to traverse that line for fear of being made fun of, reprimand or even imprisonment.
With God it is not that way. God desires to perfect us in Christ Jesus. And, as we move upward in that perfection, we become closer to God as we become more Christ-like. As we become closer to God, we move into a different relationship with God.
Again, perhaps an example would help. As a son, a boy is taught by his father for years, until one day he becomes a man. During the course of this upbringing, what was taught two years ago, is not taught again. And what is taught today, may not have to be taught again in two years. This all said, the boy, over time, receives less and less training from the father, and more and more friendship. Positionally speaking, the boy is still the son of the father, that will never change. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be friends, too.
I believe that, in some respects, God is like that. What He taught us many years ago does not have to be revisited, we hope. And, as we grow, our relationship grows. Positionally speaking, we will always be a child of God. Positionally speaking we will be God’s son or daughter, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be His friend, too.
Gratitude
Now that we have attitude or position in God clearly explained, we can move toward that goal. As we move toward that goal, something is going to emanate from deep within each and every one of us, gratitude. And, as we move toward that goal, we should use caution however, because Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, was not called a friend of God until after several years of following God. So, we’ve got some work to do. First of all, we need to have assurance of salvation. We need to know that we are saved.
(Romans 10:9~10) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The above scripture doesn’t mince any words. We’ve either done it or we haven’t. If you haven’t, I invite you to take some time right now and think about putting your faith in Jesus.
When you put your faith in Jesus, a wonderful thing happens. Something that the Old Testament Jews did not experience, except for a very select few. That wonderful thing that we’re talking about is being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. God fills us with His Spirit! Now we’ve got that mentor that we were talking about earlier. Now we’ve got that someone that is going to interact with us [through our spirit] and take us along the road to spiritual maturity in God.
Remember what we said earlier about Micah 6:8?
(Micah 6:8) He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
To do justly is our being real to ourselves, to love mercy is being real to other people, and to walk humbly with thy God is being yourself with God.
Walking humbly with God is all about the ‘tudes that we mentioned earlier. Having the right attitude and gratitude ensures you’re humble before God. The funny thing about humility, once you realize you’re humble, you’re not! Yes, I realize this takes practice, but so does being a professional baseball player, or walking in space, or governing a nation [well based on past history, maybe not that last one].
Gratitude is an expression that comes from deep within. It’s a heart condition! We say it’s a condition of the heart simply because a person can say Thank-you and never really mean it. I mean, walk down the hall of any major organization and observe the greetings that people give each other: hello – hello, how’s it going – how’s it going. People greet each other with the same greeting given them. Gratitude, is hearing their greeting and bouncing it back to them with life!
Gratitude toward God comes from a re-conditioned heart. Gratitude will ‘well up’ inside a heart that has been forgiven. Gratitude will overflow from a heart that recognizes that it has been saved. A heart that has been reformed and adheres to the will of God is a heart filled full and overflowing with gratitude. Yes, I realize it’s a lot to digest, but just let the Spirit do His work. Don’t get in His way. Read your Bible and draw closer to God.
The Bible says that as you draw nearer to God, something wonderful happens. He draws closer to you (see James 4:8). And, the closer you draw to God, the more gratitude flows from your heart. The more gratitude that flows from your heart the more the Spirit of God has to work with on your behalf. Look at this verse concerning intercessory prayer:
(Romans 8:26) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
The Spirit of God steps in and makes intercession on behalf of us before God! The Spirit of God is your Mentor and your Comforter! Don’t quench the Spirit by not letting Him work in your life. Let Him work through your attitude for God and your gratitude to God.
Rectitude
Here’s a ‘tude that doesn’t really flow of the tongue very well. It means righteousness, morality, goodness, and integrity.
We must understand that everything before God is decent and right. There is nothing that is not decent and right before God. Therefore, we, in our sinful state, were unable to stand before God. This is the very reason that Jesus, the sinless one, went to the cross as a sacrifice for those very sins that were ‘born’ in our body through Adam and Eve. When we put our faith in Christ, we stand righteous before God. We’ve been cleansed of all sin and are pure. Yes, there are times when we will sin and our fellowship with God will be fractured, or even broken. But at those times we are allowed to come with a repentant heart and ask forgiveness in Jesus’ name and that our fellowship with the Creator of the Universe be restored based upon the finished work of the Son of God!
That is righteousness. That is rectitude. That is how we should appear before God. With clean hands, and a pure heart, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Along with this glorious cleansing of spirit, mind, and body is the Spirit of God that takes up residence within each one of us that were ‘reborn.’ This wonderful Guide will lead us and direct us down the righteous path. Now, the Apostle Peter makes a very good point in 2 Peter, chapter 1. In it he details the path of the one that has put their faith in Jesus and yields to the moving of the Divine Spirit on the life of the Christian:
(2 Peter 1:3~8) 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see faith, which was given to us initially by God, came first. We then put that faith in the very One that went to the cross to die for our sins, Jesus Christ. Now, to that faith Peter asks that we, through the Divine Power, the Spirit of God working in us, add to that faith all that is good.
What a wonderful circle of righteousness!
Plenitude
Here’s the ‘tude that only comes as a result of the others. When you have your attitude adjusted by the Holy Spirit, when you are bowed low with gratitude to the God that provided His Son as a Sacrifice for your sin, and you stand with a rectitude that can only be provided by Him, then you will have plenitude, a full supply of God working in you and through you for His Good Will. Then you will know, yes, then you will know what friends are for? Then you will know that God is your God, and that God is your Friend.
Summary:
God is every man’s creator. God is every man’s deliverer. God is every man’s strength and wisdom. He is our all in all. With that in mind, with my head and heart bowed low in an attitude of humble praise and adoration, I can sincerely call God my friend.
I’ve no doubt in my mind that Abraham felt the same way. Deep down in his heart he knew that though God was GOD!, he, Abraham, was a Friend of God.
James 2:23 says that Abraham was called the Friend of God! This means that other people, onlookers, called him the Friend of God. Can those that are surely watching you say the same thing about you? Do you reflect the radiance and glory that ensures people notice that God is a part of your life? Think about that…
