James 2:23

New International Version (NIV)

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

For meditation.

The three men enjoyed the hospitality of Abraham’s home and the delicacy of Sarah’s cooking. After saying their goodbyes to their host, they got up to leave. As Abraham saw them off, God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do” (Gen. 18:17). How could He? 

Abraham had obeyed God for a long time without evidence of the promised blessing. He had left everything to follow God in a foreign land, and God had trained him to trust and obey Him. God had promised Abraham a people and a great nation, but there was nothing to show for it for many years. When God repeated the Promise for the third time, Abraham believed God, “and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). That earned Abraham the right to be called God’s friend (Acts 2:23). So when God visited Abraham that day near the Great Tree of Mamre (Gen. 18:1), it was a visit from a friend to a friend. Abraham cherished this relationship, so he nurtured it. When Abraham willingly shared the meal with his friend, God couldn’t hold back from him what He intended to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. After all, it affected Abraham’s nephew, Lot. 

That is what genuine friendship is. It is a ready willingness to share at all times. It builds trust and a right to confidential information. Friends do not keep their intimate thoughts from each other because they have built mutual trust between them. That’s why “The righteous choose their friends carefully” (Prov. 12:26). A real friend “loves at all times” (17:17), and when it gets to a certain level, a friend “sticks closer than a brother” (18:24).

• Do you have such a friend?
• Are you such a friend to somebody?
• Have you built mutual trust and confidence in the relationship? 
• Are you faithful to each other?
• Is your friendship built on love? Is Christ in it?

I pray you to know that you have a friend in Jesus (Jn. 15:15). When all others fail you, He will remain faithful. 

May you trust Jesus as your friend that He may share His intimate thoughts with you. May you share that love and trust with somebody else who yearns for a sincere and trusted friend.  

Genuine friends are hard to find, but they are pure gold when Christ has consumed their hearts.

Shalom