A Friend of God: Getting To Know God - Amy Lawrence

Imagine walking into a room full of people you’ve never met. It’s a formal gathering to which you and your parents were invited, and it was required of you to dress nicely. We’ll call it a retirement party for your dad’s great uncle’s best friend. You only came for the food. Being the agreeable person that you are, however, you understand the proprieties of social graces. It’s possible that you will have to engage in conversation with someone. Before you get the chance to choose, you notice a girl making a beeline for you. She reaches you and begins vehemently shaking your hand and telling you of all the things that make her worth knowing. “I make straight A’s, I’m the star player on my basketball team, my dad is the richest person in this room, and I can juggle.” Smiling politely, you try to speak in an attempt to converse. She cuts you off and continues to talk about herself. You try to kindly disengage and make your way to another part of the room, but this girl begins to follow you as she continues to talk and invade your personal space. As she is hanging by your side and continuing to prattle on, you notice another person sitting in a chair against the wall, engrossed in the pages of a rather thick book. This girl is wearing a shirt exactly like one you also own. She has on a pair of tennis shoes at a dressy affair and the name tag sticker she is wearing says, “Go Away”. You also notice a group of guys and girls standing in a circle in another corner of the room, talking amongst themselves with the occasional laugh mixed in as their conversation goes along.
Which would you choose?
Why?
I’ll bet you are wondering what this has to do with God.

Whether by chance or by choice, the people that we desire to be around are those that we’ve made a connection with and can relate to at least to some degree. We look for companions that make us feel like we belong. We don’t usually enjoy being forced to get to know someone, especially someone with whom we have nothing in common. While categorizing as “friends”, “acquaintances”, “enemies”, or “unknown”, we have a method by which we select the people we let in - or don’t let in - to our space. The pattern that emerges from the way we make these selections has one element in common: connection. How does this tie in to scripture?

God spoke to Moses face to face, “as a man speaks to his friend”, Ex. 33:1. Abraham was called the “friend of God”, James 2:23. Jesus called His apostles “friends”, Jn. 15:15. That begs the question…how does one become friends with God?

First, you have to believe in Him. Imaginary friends are just that - imaginary. A great number of people today want to dismiss God as “imaginary” because He doesn’t make himself easily seen. Let me ask you, though, do you remember the person in my story, the one who made herself known immediately? She bombarded you, giving you no choice but to know her. If I’m right, you would have chosen to avoid such a person. You would have sought out the people that possessed mystery - a desire to learn the unknown, sparked by the known. It could have been the tennis shoes or the “Go Away” sticker. Or maybe the laughter. Perhaps the camaraderie of the group or seeing a shirt you picked out for yourself also picked by another. These are tidbits on the surface that draw you in to make you want to see if there’s more to like about this person.

Now turn that microscope inward. I don’t know about you, I can only give my own perspective; I want to be sought. (That’s not to say I don’t also seek to gain knowledge of a person I find interesting, but not everyone appreciates how I do that. I am a straightforward person, I ask straightforward questions. The ones that can tolerate me I find are the ones worth knowing.) I want others to put as much effort into getting to know me as I put into getting to know them. It’s not because I’m difficult. I’m rather easy to get to know, as long as you understand that I’m not going to just hand it to you. The effort put into the endeavor is a tell. It tells me how invested that person is in getting to know me. If said person doesn’t want to put in the effort, I will find someone who is.
That’s what God offers us - an opportunity to get to know Him; tidbits at first, to make us wonder enough to want to know more.
He won’t force us.

Paul the apostle, when visiting Athens, had pity on the Athenians because he could see that they were idol worshippers, Acts 17:16. He noticed one particular statue inscribed, “To the Unknown god”, verse 23. Have you ever had a friend that you think is so great you were always excited to introduce that friend to people? Do you introduce them as, “This is my friend (insert name here)”? You want others to also see just how wonderful a person they are. That’s what Paul did. He used an opportunity presented by their false worship to introduce to them the God of Israel, the only True and Living God, verse 23. He didn’t stop there. He started giving them tidbits, verses 24-26. But then Paul said something in verse 27 that tells us that God wants the same thing we do: to be sought. Is God a mystery? Yes, in many ways. Does that mean we cannot find Him and also know Him? Not in the least. There is a prerequisite, though. Again, He’s not going to force us. The thing we have to have before we can find God is the desire to find God. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13. We will never find God if we are not looking for Him.

Now let’s talk about connections. I am 75% introverted, 25% extroverted. That means when I have the choice, I am going to go hide in a book. I am the person sitting in the chair with the “Go Away” name tag sticker. If I don’t have the choice, I am talented at tricking people into thinking I am a social creature. There are a fair few people I prefer over my books, though. It is a rare person that can come along and make my literary preferences obsolete. My connections vary, categorized into levels. If the connection level is 70% or higher, I will put my book down for you. If it is not, the people in my novel are much more interesting to me. I have many extroverted friends that have adopted me and taught me according to social interaction, and I love these people dearly. I don’t want to use the word “tolerate” as it denotes a rudeness that I would never apply to my friendship with them. I value every relationship. I will instead say that I appreciate their often forceful but good-for-me actions that bring me out of my shell. Their persistence has been a social benefit to me more often than not. Because of these friends, I am not a reclusive hermit with a chipped shoulder and a nest of books surrounding my recliner. Even though we are on many points opposite, it works. It’s connection. It’s the unspoken language between us that says, “You and I, we’re friends. You’re stuck with me.” We don’t do that for people with whom we fail to connect. I would never tell a person that I do not have a very personal relationship with that their clothes do not match. If you and I have a personal relationship, I will tell you when you’re being brilliant - and when you’re being stupid. I will expect the same in return. That’s connection.

So how do we connect to God? Friendship with God is not one-sided. As a matter of fact, there is no one on this planet that can know us as well as God does. He searches the heart, 1 Sam. 16:7, Jer. 17:10, He sees all, Prov. 15:3, and He is there for us when we need Him, Phil. 4:6-8, 1 Pet. 5:6-7. He is also connected through our “infirmities”, Mt. 8:17. God the Son, while He took on flesh as Jesus the Christ, was pained with the same trials and temptations we are. That’s what makes Him a compassionate High Priest, Heb. 5:1-2. He suffered the same things we suffer! Because He suffered as we suffer, He is a great friend to go to for advice and encouragement when we find ourselves facing the Devil, Heb. 2:18. When Paul listed the armor of God in Ephesians 6, He also made it clear that we as soldiers of Christ are fighting ALONGSIDE God the Spirit, Eph. 6:17-18. It’s a connection that is better than wifi! If we found another person that possessed all of these attributes, we wouldn’t hesitate to try and get to know them so we can call them “friend”. So why are so many hesitant to call God “Friend”?

If this article finds you interested to know more about God, I can tell you where to find Him. He is in the church, Acts 2; 20:28, Eph. 1:22-23. He is in scripture, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. The Bible is a letter, written to us by God, 2 Tim. 3:16-17. He is asking if He can be our Friend and is asking us to be His, Jn. 15:13-15, Rev. 22:17. If you are looking for a friend that will never let you down and will always take care of you, God is such a friend, Heb. 13:5. He listens, Ps. 34:17. He cares, 1 Pet. 5:7, and He isn’t going anywhere, Deut. 31:6.