A true friend

There is a song that I love to sing - everytime I hear it, I want to jump, spin around, clap my hands, well you get the idea. The song??? Friend of God, by Israel Houghton. My favorite part in the version we sing at church is this:

It's amazing that the creator of the universe,
Maker of heaven and earth,
Invites me to be his friend.

Those few lines amaze me. Think about it, I mean REALLY think about it. The creator of the whole entire universe, the one that spoke everything into existence, desires to be my (and your) friend. That concept blows my mind.

I have been a christian my entire life, grew up in a christian home, strayed a little as an adult, but am now faithfully seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ, yet I think this concept eluded me for a while. I am just now coming into an understanding that God truly wants to be my friend. Now, don't get me wrong I always knew he was my friend, but I think the friendship level God desires is much more complicated than the friend level we put Him on. I am sure you will agree with me, we all have friends on different levels - ones we like to hang out with becuase they are fun, ones that let us slide when we know we are wrong, the ones that when the going gets tough; we are never sure how long they will stick it out. Then we have the few, the bold, the brave - the ones that no matter what, they stick it out. In my life I have been blessed with a couple of these. The friends that never let us get away with the pity party we continually try to throw, the one that calls us out - the one that encourages us to pray about things, to have an active, intimate relationship with Christ. This is the person we seek out when we can't go on, when we feel like the world is falling down around us. The one we go to for comfort, peace, encouragement, wisdom. This is the friend that doesn't leave us no matter how hard we push them away.

Now, take that bond and multiply it by my children's favorite number - infinity! That is the friendship level Christ desires for us. He invites us to that intimate relationship with him. Isn't that amazing????? And the kicker is, that level of relationship is not even hard. He wants to spend time with us, for us to know Him deeply and intimately. What a privilege - What an honor!