2 steps to a greater friendship with God.
Have you ever caught a glimpse of someone and thought “We should be friends!”
Maybe they were adventurous or had cool toys or great hair. Hey, trust me. I’ve picked friends for less. Many of us take whatever comes along, by way of friends, just happy to have some when we need them…but the best relationships are intentional.
You know, ones we invest time and effort in. It starts with a simple decision to focus more on the needs and desires of the other person than our own. That is where relationships turn the corner from a casual acquaintance to an intimate confidant.
All living things thrive when their needs are tended to; houseplants, farm animals, human hearts, and God.
I’ve killed a few houseplants and lost a farm animal or two. Like most people, I’ve undoubtedly broken a human heart, but I am determined to become a true friend of God. I want to know His needs and wants. I want Him to somehow feel strength of faithfulness coming from me…I want to bless Him that way.
I decided to read up on Abraham, famously God’s friend, to get some insider information on a deeper relationship with God.
I have always assumed God loved Abraham so much because of the whole, “Get out of thy country and go to a place I will show you” thing. And that has a lot to do with it. Followed by, “Take now thy son, thine only son whom you love…”. Yah. Very big!
The bottom line is that He trusted enough to obey. God calls this faith.
GOD LOVES FAITH. This is where their relationship started.
We can all have faith. (Trust and obey.) But what if we want to take our friendship with God to the next level? Is there something we can DO to get His attention? I was looking a little closer at Abraham today and I think I found a clue.
Love what God loves.
Abraham discovered what was important to God, and he placed importance on it too. That one thing is people. God loves them. Alot. Even the evil ones. Here’s an example.
The Lord came to visit Abraham on His way to scout the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was going to confirm the rumor of their great sin, and render judgement. He chose to make a stop off at His friend’s house first, and divulge His plans to Abraham.
Like Abraham, when we trust the Father enough to obey (faith), we learn His secrets. Secrets are for friends.
Here’s the thing. I believe God needed His friend to convince Him to do what He really wanted to do; a stay of execution. I am basing this on what we know of God’s character, the decisions He has always made throughout time. He created laws reflecting His holiness and then supplied ways to stay in relationship with us when we failed. I am also basing this on my own experience. I have often shared a hard decision with a friend, hoping they would convince me that it was ok for me to do what was in my heart. That’s what friends are for.
Abraham could have gone either way with this conversation. He could have argued based on His knowledge of God’s unblemished holiness. “Lord, You have no choice! Wipe them out!” But Abraham took a risk and argued instead based on his knowledge of the tension God lives with. Unblemished holiness, yes, and unprecedented love. “Lord, would you destroy the righteous with the wicked? What if you find 50 good men? Or 40, or 20, or 10?”
Abraham did exactly that. He begged Him, bartered with Him, and I believe the Lord loved every minute of it. He got to blame Abraham for swaying Him. “He talked me into it.” Abraham tipped the scale in favor of mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgement.
In the end the Lord had to destroy the cities. Their sin simply would not allow a different end, but for a moment, someone understood and fought for His people, even though it meant pitting one side of His nature against the other.
Yah. That’s why He loved that man so much.
I bet Abraham reminded the Father of Jesus. I want to remind the Father of Jesus, too.
When we hate on people…we distance God. When we see people merely from the viewpoint of holiness, and not from love…we distance God. An intimate relationship with Him means letting Him love His people through our words and actions.
Especially now….in our day, when His holiness has been satisfied.
Satisfied, as if Abraham had said, “Destroy me instead.” and saved the cities.
Satisfied, because Jesus said and did exactly that, and saved the world.
Now because of Him, the Father’s love for people can no longer be restrained. For any reason. To be a friend of God is to understand that.
So, when you catch a glimpse of Him and think, “We should be friends!” Pursue Him! Faith will begin your friendship with God, and love for people will clinch it.