S72P8 – A friend of God: by faith
Jam. 2:21-23
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
The word friendship used in the world can have a rather loose and flimsy meaning. I recall my early adulthood being filled with “friends” who barely met the definition of the word. It was as if friendships were assigned certain degrees depending on how reliable or trustworthy the person was. It was not unusual for me to confide in one person but not in another because I did not have faith in all my friends. Those relationships were not genuine in the least because they either existed out of convenience or were really one-sided. What the world does not understand about friendship is that it is built on committed trust and faith in one another. No friendship should come with the expectation of deception or betrayal.
Abraham’s friendship with God was founded in his faith. That is no different with us. Friendship with God is not established by our partial trust in him or by believing in only some of his teachings. Friendship with God starts with a commitment to have faith in him completely. Everything God says about himself is the undisputed truth. Everything God instructs us to carry out is for our good without exception. Everything God promises will come to pass is guaranteed without any reason for doubt. If we are skeptical of any of this, or we simply think scripture is too incredible to be more than just a few good moral tales, then we have no foundation for friendship. We must have a sincere desire for complete faith in God before He will allow us to occupy the position of being his friend.
We might be able to maintain superficial quasi friendships with people, but we certainly cannot maintain that kind of relationship with God. It is all or nothing. He wants us to jump in with both feet first and desire to trust him completely. We cannot be mere acquaintances with him. That is the lake known as “lukewarm”, and that is a dangerous place to be. If we believe we are friends of God’s, then we must measure that statement against our level of trust and faith in him as evidenced by our works. If we still have doubts, let us pursue revelation and increased faith to remove those obstacles. Father, search us and show us any doubts still within us so that we can grow in being your faithful friends.