So the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. —Exodus 33:11 NASB
My mother and I were fondly recalling my father, who had passed away two decades prior. “In the last year or so of his life,” Mom said, “he would refer to Jesus as his ‘friend.’ At the time I thought he was nuts, but I’ve since come to understand what he meant.” We chuckled over the story, a slice-of-life peek into the past, and a highly relatable one, for God continually draws us closer to Himself. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,”1 wrote James to early believers. And though Jesus reigns as Savior and Lord, He defines our relationship in still broader and more intimate terms. “I have called you friends,” He said to His disciples, “for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”2 Friends with Jesus—sit peaceably with this. Soak it in, for this is who we are.
In last week’s post, I shared my growing realization that “If in death I will see Jesus face to face, I’d do well to open wide my relationship with Him right now.” This included, among other things, talking with Him more. “Pray much. Pray boldly.” Then how better to talk to a friend than as a friend? Of our relationship with God, Paul writes, “In [Christ Jesus our Lord] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”3 Isn’t this an invitation to open conversation between friends? For true friends relate to each other not in capitulation to fear, but in freedom from fear; the more earnestly friends care, the more honestly we share. And no one cares more earnestly than Jesus; He has proved it by laying down His life for us, and by raising up our life with Him.
So we pray boldly, not because we’re so great in ourselves, but because God himself is so good. He draws us deeper into relationship through honest conversation. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.”4 He speaks to us, as well, just as He promised Jeremiah— “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”5 Then just as God listens, and just as He speaks, so also does He act. Writes John, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”6 Speak, listen, and act—this is what friends do, and Jesus is our friend. He has made us His, as well.
Jesus, thank You for calling us, “friends.” Help us to receive and flourish in such grace, that we would joyfully engage with You who loves us so well. Amen.
1 James 4:8
2 John 15:15
3 Ephesians 3:11-12 NIV
4 1 Peter 3:12
5 Jeremiah 33:3
6 1 John 5:16-17
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Paul Nordman—Author 