Ever had that experience where you see a good movie, eat a
great meal, witness something outlandish, hear a funny joke, read a good book?
Ever ponder what goes through your mind immediately following that experience?
For me, it’s usually, “Oh my gosh! I have got to tell….” Insert the names of your of best friends
forever and you get the picture.
It’s something, the power of friendship. It’s true that no
man is an island. We weren’t meant to live in isolation. From the beginning of
time when God created man in His image and likeness, His foremost desire was to
be in relationship with him. Throughout the Old Testament, you see God and His
friends: God and Adam walking in the cool of the day. God revealing Himself to
Moses in the burning bush and their ensuing friendship on Mount Sinai as the
Lord allows His goodness to pass before him. Then there was Enoch. A friendship so passionate that God took him
because he couldn’t stand being without him (ref. Genesis 5:24). And what about God and Abraham? Theirs was a
friendship so vulnerable and transparent that God shared His secrets with him,
altered His own plans based on Abraham’s wisdom, and subsequently built an
entire race of chosen people from his seed (ref. Gen. 18: 20-33; Gen.
22:13-18). I’d be remiss to leave out the
friendship of God and David. A friendship so intimate that God allowed David to
experience New Testament realities under the old covenant.
If these men enjoyed friendship with God marked by
vulnerability, transparency, risk, passion, and revelation under an inferior
covenant, what type of friendship awaits me as a New Testament believer?
All of my life I’ve had this desire to know God. I mean
really know Him. What is He like? What makes Him laugh? What makes Him smile?
What makes Him cry? What makes Him sad?
If heaven has a banqueting table, what does He like to eat? What’s His
favorite wine? I wondered why some could draw near and others remained veiled.
Is it really difficult to know Him? If there were a formula, I’d sell my soul
to buy it. And yet, my very soul He already possesses.
So how do I plumb the depths of the heart of God and
discover friendship for myself? By sailing the seas of grace and basking in the
Son on the shores of His goodness, I’m allowed the opportunity to know Him as
friend.
If Adam walked with God in the cool of the day, there’s a
key in that for me. So I take walks with God, just He and I. We stroll the
hills of my neighborhood together and talk and laugh. We ask each other
questions and we listen. I bring the whole of me on those walks, good, bad and
ugly. All of my fears, doubts and insecurities come along. My idiosyncrasies,
vulnerabilities and transparencies show up too. I bring my worship, my
gratitude, my hunger and my passion for they are as much a part of me as the
other things and together, we walk. By the time I return to my door, my Friend
has exchanged His yoke for mine. My Friend has shared His heart and I have
shared mine.
In developing my friendship with God, I am more aware of His
nearness. I know that He is always with me, but I also know when He shows up in
a tangible way. I no longer dine alone, go to the movies alone, read a book
alone. My friend is ever present to share those experiences with me. I do have
to be careful sometimes not to laugh out loud or talk aloud as I sometimes do
with Him in my secret place!
And while I still don’t know His favorite wine, I’ve learned
a lot about what makes Him smile, what makes Him laugh, what makes Him cry.
Like any good friendship, you never reach the point of knowing. There is always
discovery.
Take a walk. Climb a mountain. Dance a jig. Celebrate in
song. And invite the King of Kings to come along. Don’t be one who reaches the
end of your life and Father God declares to you, “I never knew you (Matthew
7:23).” Don’t pass up the opportunity for Almighty God to know you, to
understand you. Take a walk and share your heart. His heart is set on
friendship.
©2012
Felicia Murrell
No comments:
Post a Comment