God is a Friend Like No Other

Every person in this earth desires companionship and to be loved. The Word of God declares in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us that we would believe in Him and have a relationship with Him.

Religion tells you that there are certain things you need to do in order to reach God or to even come close to God. However, Christianity is not a religion per se – as a follower of Christ, we are in a relationship with the Most High God. God wants to walk and fellowship with each and every believer – just like He did in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day.

God is not just our Father, but also a friend.

Our Friend Created the Universe.

Just thinking about God’s love is so overwhelming. The God of the universe wants to be our friend! The Word of God describes Abraham as being a friend of God, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend” (James 2:23). God and Abraham had a relationship where God would converse with Him and even involve him in a decision He was going to make concerning Sodom and Gomorrah. God wants to converse with all of us and guide us in our everyday life just like a friend would advise you in the things about your life.

You may be asking, “So how do I become a friend of God?” A great example to look at is Abraham. We can learn so much from His relationship with God. Here are two main things that I believe made Him a friend of God.

Abraham was a man of faith.

Abraham is declared in scripture to be the father of faith. In Romans 4:16 it says, “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring–not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

When God told him that he would have a son, even though he was old in age and Sarah was barren, he believed God and it came to pass. The Bible says as we believe in Christ, we become descendants of Abraham as the father of us all. He was a man of faith and it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). We please God when we walk in faith, fully trusting that He will come through for us.

Abraham was obedient.

God told Abraham to leave his parents’ home and go to a place where He would show him and Abraham, without hesitation, packed all his things and left. He left not even knowing where he was going but trusting God to lead him.

Another instruction God gave him would have made almost any parent question God, but Abraham didn’t. God asked him to sacrifice the son he loved, Isaac, the son God promised him. He took Isaac the next day early in the morning and did as he was asked, though he believed God that through Isaac he would be the father of many nations. Abraham believed that God would provide a lamb for himself or resurrect Isaac after he obeyed – either way,  God would keep his promise and God did.

The Word of God declares in Genesis 22:8, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together.” He obeyed God and, “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” Genesis 22:13

So, what’s the play call?

“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:14.

There are so many ways to become a friend of God though we can learn these two things from Abraham that will boost our relationship with God. We must have faith in God that whatever He says He will do. We can trust Him – God only wants the best for us.

Someone who loves you wants the best for you and God loves us dearly. We should also be obedient for He is the God of the universe and He knows what will bless us even when we don’t. He’s pretty smart and has all the wisdom we need for every situation in life. As we do these things, we become friends of God and our lives will never be the same because of it.