God is our Friend

We have all heard the song about being friend of God but what does that mean? How can we call God friend when He is, well, God?

We must always remember that when Jesus came to earth He was constantly challenging the ideas that people had of God. He wanted to show that God was not a distant God but a God that is relational on every level.

Think about why you like hanging out with your friends. What things do you do together? What things do you have in common? That is how God wants to be viewed. Have you ever started liking a team or a television show because a friend of yours likes them? When we become friends with God we also start liking the same things He likes. We get interested in the things He is interested in. We do things He wants to do and we even enjoy them because we are with our friend who enjoys them.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Immanuel means God with us, not God over us, around us or even near us. God with us is an intimate term.

Read Luke 10:38-41

Martha was more concerned with doing things FOR Jesus and Mary was more concerned with BEING WITH Jesus. Do you see the difference.

Martha viewed the evening as dinner for God
Mary viewed the evening as dinner with God

John 15:13-15 13Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I 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.


Look at what Jesus is saying. If you are a true friend then you will do things for Jesus. Girls are better at this then guys, but when a girl goes to a store and sees something for her friend, she buys it. She can not wait to see her friend so she can say, I was thinking of you when I bought this, or did this. She is not forced to do it, but it is something that comes naturally to her because she loves her friend and just wanted to do something for her. When we think following Jesus becomes a list of do's and dont's then we miss the joy of being with Him. We become a Martha who is trying to please Jesus rather than a Mary who just wants to be with Him.

Think about your true friends for a moment. Do you clean the house before they come over? Do you leave the dishes and the wash out because you know they do not care? Are true friends allowed to stop by whenever they want? People that are guest you have to clean the house, the car, the dog and anything and everything that can be cleaned. When Jesus becomes your friend you just want to spend time with Him and you act in a certain way because you are His friend. Servants serve and friends enjoy.

When you have a bad day do you tell a friend? We call our friends and tell them everything. Jesus says He calls us friends and He wants us to know what He is up to and what He is doing. If you do not see yourself as a friend to God then why not? Would you say you are a Martha or a Mary? God loves you so much and He wants you to have a relationship with Him that you have never experienced before. He wants to be your friend and do things with you and for you. Not for any other reason that He is your friend.