Emmanuel Day 5

Emmanuel, The Friend with us

“But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,

The offspring of Abraham My friend”

Isaiah 41:8

What do you think of when you hear the word “friend”? Are there certain qualities you look for in a friend? Similar interests? Mutual affection? Humor and fun? Someone who listens to you pour out your heart and helps dry your tears? Someone you can drink coffee, hike, or eat chocolate with? What makes you feel like someone else considers you to be a friend? Feeling loved, accepted, and wanted?

Some of the dictionary definitions for the word “friend” are…

A person attached to another by feelings of affection, trust or personal regard.

A person who gives assistance

A person who is on good terms with another

A person who is not hostile.

Don’t you love to think of Jesus as your closest Friend? Matthew records Jesus as being the “Friend of sinners”. We sing songs like, What a Friend we have in Jesus. We know that Jesus is our Friend, but do we also see ourselves as His friend? In the middle of a study of Emmanuel, God with us, I’d love to take a few minutes today to take a look at how we can also be the friend with Him?

Isaiah 41:8 and 2 Chronicles 20:7 are the two verses in the Old Testament where God calls Abraham “My friend.” In both places the word used for friend is the Hebrew word ahav, “one who loves.” In other words, God was saying that He felt loved by Abraham. Have you ever thought about God feeling loved by you? The whole thought makes me want to cry! When my kids were little, I tried to fight their Christmas-covetous-tendencies by constantly bringing our holiday conversations back to Jesus and the birthday gifts they were going to give to Him as opposed to the gifts they wanted for themselves. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea for all of us to think of as well. I, for one, can get so focused on serving Jesus, that sometimes I forget to just take time to let Him know that I love Him and adore Him. Doesn’t this thought make you want to renew your friendship with God today? How can we make sure that God feels loved by us, and what was it about the life of Abraham that made God feel loved by him in a connection of friendship? There were a couple of things that popped into my heart as I was praying about this, and the first one is that Abraham showed his friendship and love to God through his obedience.

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

John 14:21 (NLT)

God makes it clear multiple times in His Word that He perceives our obedience as us showing love to Him, and as a mom, I get this! When my kids were younger, we had such fun days when they were obedient and joyful, I felt loved, they felt loved, and the blessings of a close relationship flowed free. But on those days where they were in feisty moods and constantly pushed against what I asked them to do, let’s just say the days like that were not quite as joyful as the others.

God called Abraham to do some pretty wild and daring things, and Abraham showed his love, friendship, trust, and faith in God by being willing to obey. If you don’t know Abraham’s story well, you can find it in the book of Genesis, but here’s a little highlight summary of Abraham’s obedience.

• God called Abraham to leave his homeland, all that was familiar, safe, and comfortable in order to wander around the promise land as a pilgrim and sojourner for the rest of his days, and Abraham did it.

• God called Abraham to offer up as a sacrifice his promised son that he had waited over 25 years for, and Abraham did it. (Thankfully God intervened on that one, but we know Abraham was willing!)

• God called 99-year-old Abraham into a new covenant requiring circumcision as the sign, and Abraham did it.

God had some pretty big asks, and Abraham seems ready to obey without much seeming hesitation at all.

Abraham also showed his love and friendship to God by his belief in the promises God made and by his faith in the heavenly destination that awaited him. He didn’t let his heart get distracted or divided away from God by anything this world had to offer. He showed his love and friendship to God by marching on, eyes fixed on heaven and excited for the day he would finally be face-to-face with his Friend.

“And the Lord brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So [numerous] shall your descendants be.” Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).”

Gen 15:5-6 (AMP)

Do you ever wonder how many times Abraham looked up into the sky and remembered this moment? It seems that we read of him often outside, spending time with God; hearing His voice, looking up, listening, seeking. We are blessed beyond measure by Emmanuel, God with us, and maybe we could show Him our love, friendship, and adoration today by taking some time to remind Him that we love to spend time with Him as well. Maybe you could even head outside tonight and take a few minutes star-gazing with Jesus. As you look up at the stars be reminded that Abraham isn’t the only one who has a starry promise from God. Psalm 139 tells us that God thinks of us more than all the stars in heaven. Spend some extra time with Him tonight, seeking Him and asking Him how you can grow even deeper in your friendship with Him. Try to count the stars tonight and you’ll be reminded of the massive love Emmanuel has for you. What a privilege it is to be the friend of the God who came to be the Friend of us sinners.

Emmanuel; with us IS GOD.