"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend." (James 2:22-23)

Are you God's friend?  A friend is someone with whom you have mutual affection.  There is no doubt that God loves us.  (See John 3:16)  The question remains, do we love God?  The Bible teaches that we can become God's friend through a love relationship with His Son, Jesus.  This is a personal relationship.  Abraham believed God because he had a reciprocating love relationship with God.  When God asked something of Abraham, he was obedient because he knew the one who made the promise and had an ongoing relationship with Him.  There was a mutual trust in their relationship.  Abraham did not obey God merely because he wanted the promise of God.  He did not put the blessings and promises of God above God.  He sought the relationship for the sake of the relationship.  That is the character of all friend relationships.  Your friends are your friends because you genuinely like them and want to be with them.  You want to please them and do things for them because of the relationship you have with them.

So, is God really your friend?  Do you practice your religion in order to receive something?  Do you go to church to be entertained?  Do you read your Bible to check off another category in your list of religious duties?  Do you worship to receive a good feeling?  Do you listen to the sermon in order to "be fed?"  Do you go to the altar to get rid of your guilt?  Do you ask for prayer in order to be blessed?  Do you pray in order that you might receive something?  Answering yes to these questions would not be an indication of friendship with God.  We are often more concerned with the byproducts of the relationship than we are with the relationship itself.  That is not friendship because it is a one-sided relationship.

James said, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." (V.18)  If we genuinely have faith in God, we will be God's friend and our deeds will reflect that friendship.  A true friend of God will be fulfilling God's purpose.  We will be loving Him with all of who we are.  We will be loving others as He has loved us.  And, we will be making disciples.  We will naturally care for the needs of others because God naturally cares for our needs.  We will care and share with others what we have received from God; not in order to receive but because we have received.  We will be participants in the promise of God rather than mere consumers of the promise.

Are you God's friend?

Alan L. Thomas <><