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Friend of Sinners
Over that last few years it seems that there has been a growing focus in Christian writing, music, and teaching, on becoming friends with God. And over the years I’m sure we’ve all asked, how can I be a friend of God and maybe more importantly, how do I develop a lasting friendship with God?
Well, one of the first things that happens when friendships are developed is that time is spent in getting to know one another – so as believers desiring to become friends with God it makes sense that we begin by spending time with him. It’s important to know and understand that God wants to be involved in our whole lives; when we wake, when we eat, when at work, when studying, and so on. He wants to become our friend, someone we can turn to, someone we can trust with anything.
I want to look at three areas we can work on to help build and maintain a friendship with God.
1. Honesty. We need to be honest with God in everything we do. Part of friendship is allowing oneself to become vulnerable, and honesty is one of the ways we can do this with God. We needn’t fear that God will find something out about us that will make him turn his back on us, as he has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. Furthermore, if we tell God something that is personal and of a sensitive nature we can be sure that he is never going to go and share what you have told him with others. What you say to him stays with him.
2. Obedience. In Scripture God calls us to obedience. Jesus says in John 14:15, ‘If you love me you will obey what I command.’ And what does Jesus command? Well, the greatest command is to love God, and the second is to love one another. So, if we truly love God and want him to be our friend, we are called to love each other.
I understand firsthand how difficult this command can be at times. However, Scripture clearly states that if we fail to love our brothers and sisters, our families, our communities, our nations, and our world, as he himself loves them, then how can we say we love God . We read that God loves all people, everywhere, without prejudice, and he simply asks that we do the same.
3. Our desire. In life we all desire things, and I would guess that for the most part we desire things that are for selfish and personal gain. As believers the question still stands, where do we place our desire? This is a tough one, and yet our answer should be vastly different from that of those in the world. Each one of us needs to ask, is my first desire to know God better and become his friend?
One more thing I would like to add – are we reading and studying The Bible? The Bible is our our instruction manual, in that it details for us how we are to live as Christians. But it is more than that. It is a love letter from one friend to another – from God to us.
God desires nothing less than to become our friend. The fact is, he was willing to leave Heaven to come and walk among us, and the Word tells us that he was a “friend of sinners” Luke 7:34. In short, Jesus befriended the alienated, the weak, the despised, and morally bankrupt people of His day. He treated everyone he came in contact with as individuals of great worth. And nothing has changed. He still looks at us and sees us as people of worth. He sees us for what we could become, not what we are. And he still holds out his hand to us all and lovingly invited us, “Come, accept my friendship and be my friend.”
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
February, 2009
Picture by Jen Thomas
Hi Chris,
I am slowly learning that i really have to put an honest and complete effort into finding out about God through reading my bible and spending time praying and meditating on verses that stick out to me, not just relying on the outside sources like church and my christian friends. I’m learning that Obedience is huge! And when my mind starts to say ‘Yes, I want that!’ then that usually tips me off that i need to check it with scripture and see what my motives are behind it.
I praise Jesus every night that he is a friend to sinners like me, cause without him i was lost..
This is huge! Desire is something that all too often gets in the way of a good relationship with God. “I want that” “I deserve that” and “What about me?” are things we say all too often these days, when in fact we need to go back and check everything against the Word – something you seem to know already.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Again, it’s true that we need to get deep into God’s Word and not just rely on stuff we hear from other people. I am so glad that you are taking the steps necessary in getting to know God more.
Blessings as you continue the journey home. Chris