MAKING JESUS A FRIEND

 

        

In 1519, at the very last moment, the governor of Cuba revoked the charter of an expedition to Mexico after a fierce argument with its leader. But the defiant Cortés set sail with 11 ships and 300 men anyway. By July he had worked his way along the coast to Veracruz. There, eager to march inland to the capital, Cortés destroyed 10 of his 11 ships, cutting off his men’s only hope of retreat. He left them with no option but to head inland. The expedition ultimately destroyed the Aztec Empire and began the process of colonizing Mexico.

Cortez understood the price of commitment and he was willing to pay it for a temporal, earthly treasure. Paul in contrast was willing to give up the earthly for the heavenly. On the Damascus road he had the unspeakable privilege of seeing the glory of the risen Christ (Acts 9:3). From that moment on all other glories seemed like nothing in comparison.

Paul left his old life and burnt the bridges. He moved forward and never looked back. Years later he wrote to the Philippians “But whatever things were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things; I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).

Paul had lost fame; he was now infamous. He had lost prestige; he was no longer the esteemed member whose vote mattered in serious cases. He had lost family; we do not hear about them much. He thought about all the things that he had lost after giving his life to Christ and he declared that it is all “garbage”. He had worked hard and he thought he had great achievements, only to realize it was all “garbage”.

Paul did not dwell longingly or with any sense of loss on the past.  If he had he would have had an opportunity to return to his old life. In Hebrew 11: 13- 16 we read of the early believers admitting that they were foreigners on earth.  We are told that if they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. A city prepared by God for them.

Paul considered everything as loss because of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”.  He was already saved; Jesus was now the Lord of his life and he had submitted himself unreservedly to his Lordship. The word translated “to know” describes comprehensive knowledge gained by experience. He did not want a mere acquaintance or merely to know about Christ. He desired to deeply know him personally and relationaly like his predecessor’s had known God.

Job went through much suffering in life and he did not understand what was going on. He lost all his possessions: children, wealth and health. Amazingly Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong (Job 1:22). His wife told him to curse God and die (Job 2:9). But Job’s response reveals that he knew God’s ways. He said “you are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble” (Job 2:10).

Job could not see it, but we are told that there was a hedge of protection around him and his household. And it was God who was making him rich (Job 1:10). And yet Job said “the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Job was right; his children were a gift from the Lord (Ps. 127:3).  The power to get his great wealth had come from God (Deut. 8:18). It’s the Lord who had kept him free from diseases (Deut 7:15).

God’s description of his own power (Job 38-41) amazed Job and changed him profoundly. He realized that such a powerful God could have prevented calamities from coming his way. He came to a state of humble contentment with not knowing why God allowed them. Towards the end, he said “my ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5). He did not only know about God, he now knew God.

Abraham was accorded the high honor of being called a friend of God. Three times in Scripture he is called the friend of God, once by God Himself (2Chron.20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23). Abraham was more than an acquaintance of God, he was a friend. God promised him protection and blessings. He said “I will make you into a great nation, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you”(Gen.12:3). Abraham fully believed and trusted God.

He was willing to leave his homeland and follow God to some unknown place (Heb 11:8). He was ready to sacrifice a son he had awaited for so many years. He did not argue or hesitate; he simply obeyed (Gen 22:2-3). He willingly forfeited the fertile land and city life and was contented to settle on the mountains where he lived in tents (Gen 13:18). He knew this life is not all that there is, his eyes of faith had seen his heavenly home (Heb 11:8-17). He could not exchange it for anything on this earth.

As a young man Moses declined a prestigious life in Egypt choosing instead to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward (Heb 11:24). He endured as seeing him who is invisible (Heb 11:27). Fixing his eyes on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).

Later in life (Exodus 33) when leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend (v.11). God said he would not go with them but send an angel instead (v.2).  Moses said “if your presence does not go with us do not send us from here.  How else will people know you are pleased with me unless you go with us? What will distinguish me from all the other people?” (v.16) God said “my presence will go with you and I will give you rest” (v.14).

The Lord said to Moses “I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name (v.17). Moses said “teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you” (v.13). God showed his ways to Moses and his acts to the children of Israel (Psalm 103:7). While the Israelites saw God’s miracles and wonders, Moses was privileged to know the ways of God which are usually in the deep and past finding out (Rom 11:33).

When Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses, God heard it and at once summoned them. God said “when there is a prophet among you, I the Lord reveal myself to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”(Numbers 12:1-9).

Paul wanted to know Christ as a friend. He wanted Christ to be his and to enjoy Him in every aspect. With such a possession all else was regarded as truly garbage. The driving passion of Paul’s life was to know more about Christ. He wanted to understand Him more fully and clearly.  He was occupied with knowing, loving, obeying and serving Christ.  He considered this a priceless privilege.

By knowing Christ he gained the best knowledge; he was endowed with the noblest form of life and his whole nature was filled with power and gladness. Consequently, Paul had real joy and he could rejoice even in the worst circumstances. He life’s motto was, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).Do you have that same eagerness to know Christ deeper every day?

Jesus promised, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him” (John 14: 21-23).  We must not rest until we "know " Christ  our friend. We should know by a quick intuition what will please and what will hurt Him. We should know where to find Him; should be familiar with His ways.

Friendship is a reciprocal relationship between two people who share a bond of mutual affection. They know and understand each other, they have shared interests and they want to spend time together. A friend loves at all times (Prov. 17:17), both in good times and bad times. Friendship with God is something that sounds wonderful at first, until you stop to think about the implications.

Friendships take time and effort; friendship with Jesus is not an exception. If you want to be his friend, you must have to time to spend time with him; talking to him through prayers and hearing from him through his word. If you are so busy to do that but you are spending hours with a world that is trying to seduce you away from him, your relationship will not grow.

Spending time alone with God shouldn’t be a duty; it should be a delight! Relationships also require effort. It’s easy to get busy and let all sorts of things crowd out the relationship; you have to say no to some good and enjoyable things so that you can spend time with God. Paul felt that anything and everything this world had to offer, was inferior compared to a real, vital, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord says, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me” (Jer. 9:23-24). When we get Christ we have nothing to fear and everything to hope for. He gives abundant life (John10:10) and immortality (John 11:25-26) to those that have him.

Knowing him and his unsearchable riches (Eph 3:8) is the greatest achievement on earth; living and dying without Christ is the greatest tragedy in life. It is impossible to know Christ completely in this life but it is a wonderful adventure as one progressively grows in Jesus Christ. The riches of Christ are unsearchable; we will never know them completely.

How wonderful it is to have Jesus as your friend. Beauty fades, money develops wings, fame is fleeting but friendship with Jesus is a blessing that continues into eternity.  Friendship with Jesus sets you free from the fear of death (Heb 2:15). When finally death ushers you into the presence of Jesus; he will not be a stranger. He will be a friend welcoming you into a place he went to prepare for you (John 14:3).