How To Be A Friend of Jesus
What does it look like to be a friend of Jesus? In this blog, learn how to embrace the intimate friendship that God desires with you. We explore four invitations that lead to a closer relationship with God. Uncover the beauty of being a true friend of God and draw near to Him, experiencing the transformational power of friendship on your spiritual journey.
-
Psalm 25:12-15
Who, then, are those who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. 13 They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. 14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
John 15:9-15
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.“This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
God Wants To Call You Friend
A friend of God fears God, holds Him in deep awe and reverence, and responds to Him in trust and adoration. Only those who fear the Lord will be brought into His inner circle of friendship.
Abraham is mentioned three times in Scripture as a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8-10, and James 2:23):
Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God’.”
Moses is called a friend of God. “Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses, face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…”
But thankfully, David reminds us in our text that God has expanded His pool of friendship to many others beyond Abraham and Moses when he says: “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.”
Jesus tells His disciples: “No longer do I call you servants…but I have called you friends.
Is it not amazing for God to call us friends? We should wake up to the beautiful thought, “I am a friend of God!”
The possibility of friendship with God transfigures life, transforming it into something more beautiful than we can imagine. It moves our hearts from stressing to resting, from striving to abiding, and from duty to delight. However, we often don’t live this way.
Why Don’t We Live As Friends of God
We forget that the Gospel is more about walking with God than working for God. God doesn’t just want servants but friends.
We often neglect our relationship with God because we are more interested in being friends with the world or too busy to take His call.
We fail to embrace His friendship because we are not convinced of His love for us.
If you ever doubt God’s love for you, read His Word.
Traveling Friendship Road
“In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:8-9
That verse makes me tremble in His presence to realize God’s greatest desire for us is to be fully alive in Him.
Recently, we were on a rural road in West Texas when we passed a small sign that became as big as a billboard in my heart: Friendship Road. As we passed, the Holy Spirit whispered, “I want to show you the way to friendship with Me.”
God promises His guidance and instruction. “Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will He instruct in the way that he should choose.”
Are you on the Friendship Road with God? If so, it is a road to intimacy, and closeness with God.
“The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.” Psalm 25:14
The Hebrew word “confides” means “secret,” which implies intimacy. Friendship with God is about intimacy—closeness, the kind of friendship that’s so close that He can share sensitive and insightful information (aka His revelation) with us.
JESUS: “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
This level of a close relationship with God is available to all believers. James wrote, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
If you are not as close to God as you would like to be, you can do something about it – “draw near to God.” If you do that, He will draw near to you.
Let’s explore what it looks like to travel the road to friendship with God.
How to Become a Friend of God: Four Invitations
1) An Invitation to Play
Many of us relate to God mainly as an adult God, but have we ever thought about how God became a little child in Jesus?
He tells us that we must become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God and experience His deep-down joy (Matthew 18:2, John 15:11).
As a kid, the first friends I remember playing with were Chad, Ricky, Steve, and Michael. We didn’t contemplate life’s meaning, but we enjoyed playing together. I felt loved in that atmosphere of playful friendship without trying to make it happen or even thinking about it. Playing is about spending time together to enjoy one another.
Maybe God became a little child first to become our playmate. He relates to the child within us. Many of us need to remember how to play. We have become so uptight that we squeak when we walk, so serious that we haven’t laughed in a long time. We act so grown up that we have forgotten that we are still children of God!
JESUS: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” Revelation 3:20
Jesus wants to come into your life not just to save you but to thrill you and complete your joy so you can enjoy all the gifts of life!
“We have just enough religion to make us feel guilty but not enough to help us enjoy life in the Spirit.”
2) An Invitation to Pray
Prayer is the way we talk to and listen to God. It is the grand means by which we draw near to God.
“The first duty of love is to listen.”
A friendship cannot survive without communication and mutual listening—a listening that comes from our longing to hear God speak and receive His instruction.
In Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning wrote, “But most of our lives we are so busy with other things that we don’t have time to wait patiently to hear the voice of Jesus within us. An appointment with the barber or hairdresser is sacred, but when God claims our time, we balk.”
We’ve become so addicted to responsibility and performance that we don’t have time to play or pray, to be in friendship with God in any form.
3) An Invitation to Obey
The words “obey” and “listen” are used interchangeably in the Bible. He will make His covenant known to those who fear Him, meaning to those who listen to His voice and obey it.
In John 15, Jesus tells His disciples: “If you keep (obey) my commandments, you will abide in my love.”
There is a cost to friendship with God; it is obedience, a heart that longs to do His will.
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:14-15
4) An Invitation to Pay
There is a cost to friendship with God. It costs us sacrificial giving—it’s not just about what we feel, but what we do.
JESUS: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
As Jesus’ followers, we are not simply His acquaintances, enslaved people, or spectators of His life story. N.T. Wright said, “We are His friends, and Good Friday proves it.” And that is what Jesus did for us!
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for (Him) and our brothers too.” 1 John 3:16
Love always costs denying ourselves—we lift the Lord in adoration when we lay our lives down for Him and the sake of others.
Are You A Friend of God?
A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. The winning definition was: “A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”
Are you on the road to friendship with God? Whether you’re searching to begin a friendship, experiencing a low, or needing a reminder: Draw Near to God, and He will draw near to you.
TL;DR
There are four invitations to a close friendship with Jesus.
An Invitation to Play: Embrace childlike joy and spend time enjoying God's presence.
An Invitation to Pray: Foster communication with God through prayer and listening to His voice.
An Invitation to Obey: Deepen the bond by obeying God's commandments and seeking His will.
An Invitation to Pay: Recognize that friendship with God requires sacrificial giving, just as Jesus sacrificed for us.
Related Reading
Three Keys to a Better Prayer Life by Rev. Paul Lawler
How to Problem Solve with God by Bro. Chris Carter
How Can I Know God by Grant Caldwell
