Friend Request

“Was it not our ancestor, Abraham who was considered righteous when he offered his son Isaac on the altar…Abraham believed God…and he was called God’s friend.” James 3:21, 23 ‘…that someone would lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father.’ John 15:13-14

In our cyber world of social networking the concept of ‘friend’ has taken on a life of its own. Like any invention, the greatest value lays within its purest form. We are all tempted by its intoxicating lure of self promotion. We all have a fleshly desire to be accepted, approved of and chosen. Social Networking can be a worldly master to whom we enslave ourselves. We update our status to our circle of friends who have become our friends by simply pressing a button. With a simple click we invite friends into our make believe cyber lives and choose to exclude others. Our ‘friendships’ can be based upon nothing more than our moods and prejudices.

Jesus made it clear in John as to the manner in which He chose friends. His friends were those who opted to fellowship with Him, learn under Him, watch Him and respond to Him. It wasn’t until Abraham acted upon his belief in what God was telling him that he became God’s friend. Friendships with God are more than ‘Liking’ a Bible verse or clicking on a button to accept Him. Friendship with God will always accompany action. ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’ Gal. 5:6.

He has status updates and postings that will never time out or disappear in the News Feeds – the Holy Bible. The friendship He esteems is one of privacy and intimacy that involves spirit to spirit and presence to presence…not click to click. His heart beats for fellowship and authenticity in intimacy with each of His children.

Don’t get me wrong…Facebook has reconnected me with so many precious friends from the past, but these friendships came about through walking together, living together, and spending our lives together. It has also connected me with new wonderful friends. Leave it to the enemy to use something good to tear us down. Facebook has also stirred up in me feelings of insecurity and resurrected deep tendencies to measure myself against others. We must be careful that we define ourselves and our friends by God’s standards and not our own.

We will never see our Divine friend face to face on earth but we will see Him in the same way Moses saw him – presence to presence. ‘The LORD spoke with Moses…just as a man speaks with his friend.’ Ex. 33:11.