love relating to God as Father, and I worship Him as King; I want to obey Jesus, my Lord and Savior and I desire to listen to the Holy Spirit as a Counselor and Teacher to me.
However, I realized I don’t often say that God is my friend. I know some people worry that we might become over-familiar with God and lose a sense of reverence for Him if we think of God as our Friend.
While preparing for a talk on this subject recently however, I had the occasion to think about God as my Friend, and what friendship with God means.
Jesus calls us His friends
One of the most famous verses about friendship with Jesus is from (John 15:13-15) where Jesus says, “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.”
Wow. Who are we that the Creator of heaven and earth, the Alpha and the Omega, would desire a friendship with us? It’s mind-blowing! As I meditated on this, I also reflected on what it means to be Jesus’ friend. He may call us His friends, but do we consider Him to be our Friend?
I hope the following things I’ve learned from the Bible will challenge you, as it has inspired and challenged me, to grow in your friendship with the Lord.
Jesus Listens to You
In (Psalm 5:3) it states “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Jesus hears your voice every time you pray to Him. When you take time out of your day to speak with Jesus, He will put everything else down to listen to you. He never has too much other things going on or interrupts you mid-sentence. Jesus will simply listen, because He wants to hear exactly what you have to say. No matter the topic – simple daily chit chat or deeper, more emotional problems – He will be there with an open ear.
Make time to draw close to Him
Scripture records that “[t]he Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Nothing fosters my intimacy with God more than spending time with God alone—meeting Him face to face, as it were. Isn’t that how we would cultivate closeness with our friends, too? Likewise, we need to regularly meet with God and spend quality time to get to know Him more intimately.
Jesus is Honest
(Titus 1:2 )says “A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” This verse clearly states that God, who is completely and wonderfully perfect, does not lie. Jesus will continuously be honest with you. He will never turn His back on you, gossip about you, or make empty promises. Jesus has always been truthful in everything He has said. It hurts us when we have a dear friend lie to us, so we can find comfort in knowing that our best friend, Jesus, will always be honest.
Listen to Him tell us what’s on His heart
And this is why Jesus tells us, “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” (John 15:15).
Just as friends would listen attentively to what each other are saying, so we, too, can cultivate our friendship with Jesus when we pay close attention to what He reveals to us about the Father’s business.
Jesus Gave His Life For You
In (John 15:13) Jesus says “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus knew that a true friend is someone who is willing to sacrifice for their friends they love and care about. And what a friend Jesus really is! He loved us so much that He sacrificed Himself so that we could have an avenue to heaven. That took an incredible amount of faith and courage for Jesus to do something so amazing for all of us. He is the ultimate best friend because of the beautiful, loving gift of eternal life He so thoughtfully gave to each of us.
Obey what’s on His heart
It’s not just enough to listen to God tell us what’s on His heart—including His counsel and corrections for us—we also must do what He confides in us. Jesus says as much: “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). We are building a relationship with Jesus when we obey what God commands us to do.
Jesus Loves You Unconditionally
Jesus will love you through it all. No matter what you do in life, He will always be there to give you the love you deserve. He even loved you before you gave your life to Him. No matter the past you have – drugs, theft, or similar – Jesus will, and always has, loved you. When you are angry and turn against Him, He will still love you. You have probably had friends that said they would love you no matter what, but have turned their back on you when you needed their love the most. Jesus will never do that to you, because His love is overflowing.
Have a pure heart and speak with grace
I find this proverb interesting: “One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend” (Proverbs 22:11). Since God is the King of heaven and earth, might this verse also speak to what He looks for in a friend?
Who wouldn’t enjoy hanging out with friends who carry purity in their heart and convey graciousness in everything they say? Perhaps, as we grow toward becoming a person like that, the King will enjoy our friendship with Him all the more.
