Friendship With God

It is amazing how God has created us. In a perfect environment we can accomplish whatever we put our mind to. From the very beginning we have tried to be God, building towers to reach the heavens. We have put men on the moon, sent robots to Mars, split atoms, harnessed the power of fire, water, air and sun. Our accomplishments are long and amazing because God has created us to be amazing. Yet, we are falling short of what we could be, of what God created us to be.

There is no doubt that God created us to be industrious. When God created Adam he also created a special garden so Adam would have some work. He put him right to it, giving him the job of naming everything. We are much more content when we are working; when we have purpose. We are pretty well destroyed and reduced in spirit when there is nothing for our hands to do. As great as this realization is, it is not our ultimate purpose, the reason we were created.

God created us because he wanted friendship. I realize that this concept might be totally odd for you, after all   what goes an ant have in common with a human. Why would God what to be friends with his creation? I guess that is a question we can ask when we get home but for now we can just look at the evidence. Just consider the relationship he had with Adam as they spent time walking in the garden together. Consider his friendship with Abraham who simply chose to believe God. Consider his relationship with Moses as they worked together to bring the people to the promised land. In fact, consider anyone in the Bible who chose to take God at his word, to trust him, and who entered into that relationship of friendship.

Our greatest role is friendship with God and he invites us to join him in his work. He invites us in to fellowship with him, to walk and talk with him. The work is to keep us balanced but it is the relationship that is the focus. Our obedience in the friendship is not based on fear but love:

If you love me, you will obey what I command. (John 14:15)

We have been invited into this friendship, that we would be included in the council of God, to know his will, his mind, his plans:

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)

Yes, we have accomplished and will continue to accomplish great things because it is how we were created, but the greatest thing is our friendship with God. For this reason we are able to say that our strength is not found in ourselves but in our friend. We need to stop looking at our strengths and weaknesses, putting limitations on ourselves or even over achieving and realize our dependence is on our friend. This is what we must understand every day of our life:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10) 

Our strength is not found in our hands, in our efforts, but in our relationship. We are to be strong in the Lord because he is our everything and his friendship matters more than anything else. It is his power that saved, rescued and invited us into this friendship. There is nothing we have done or could do to save ourselves just as there is nothing we can do to accomplish our great potential. The secret is all found in our relationship. Let's learn to walk with God in the cool of the evening and enjoy great conversation about everything. It is our true nature and purpose, to enjoy the companionship of God. Without that there will always be emptiness in us.