Friendships

I wonder how many of you really consider God to be a friend. Yes , I know God is to be reverenced and respected. But He desires relationship with us. Isn’t that evident by the gift that was presented at Calvary? It is my belief many of us sell short just how much God values us.

Webster’s Dictionary defines friendship as " the state of being friends. " So let’s take it a step farther. A friend is defined as " a person whom one knows well and is fond of; intimate associate, close acquaintance, a person on the same side in a struggle, one who is not an enemy or foe. "

Most of us women thrive on friendships. We love the connectedness ; the ability to go shopping together, talk on the phone, have lunch, and share what is happening in our lives over a cup of coffee ; or however it is you enjoy connecting with your girlfriends. Let’s face it , gals , part of a “girlfriend ' s life” is our friendships.

May I ask you today, how is your friendship with God? As I have continued my study of The Patriarchs by Beth Moore, I was recently challenged by this question. Genesis 18:16-33 gives account of Abraham’s plead for Sodom. In verse 23 we see where Abraham begins his dialogue with the Lord about sparing Sodom. He first asks the Lord , "W ill you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" Then he goes on to ask the Lord , "What if you find fifty righteous; will you really sweep it away, and not spare it for these fifty righteous ?" The Lord responds to Abraham that if fifty are found , yes He will spare Sodom for these fifty righteous. I love what Abraham does next. He goes on to say in verse 27, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes (V28), what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”

As many of us are so familiar with this passage, we know that the Lord and Abraham continue to have this dialogue until Abraham finally says to the Lord, “May you not be angry with me, but what if ten righteous are found?" The Lord in His mercy and patience with Abraham answers (I am sure in a very loving way), that if ten righteous are found He will not destroy the land. As we all know, this is not the case, and eventually Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. However, I am so grateful for the picture of friendship that is portrayed here between Abraham and God.

God knew what the outcome of these events was going to be, yet He allowed Abraham to engage in dialogue with him about these events. He allowed Abraham to work this out in his human mind. I don’t know about you, but I want to have such a relationship with God. God is not afraid of our questions; in-fact, He welcomes those questions.

Let’s go back and look at our definition of friendship; it is a person whom one knows well. May I ask you how well you know God? It is my belief that no matter how well we know Him, we can always get to know Him better. Just think , He loves you and never has an ill thought about you. May I challenge you this week to spend time with the greatest friend of all time, Jesus Christ. Thank you , Jesus , that you want us to grow our friendship with you. Please help us to do that this week.