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Hi Ian from Down Under here. It’s getting colder here in Sydney. But our winters are typically pretty mild and often quite dry as well which makes them very pleasant so long as there’s a heater not too far away if the temperature suddenly drops.

I read the above question the other day. It’s a great question as it makes you think all sorts of things, doesn’t it? Things such as:

- When did I last time with Jesus?

- Have I ever spent time with Jesus?

- You mean, in church, right?

- I’m not sure how to spend time with Jesus.

- How do you answer such a question?

Friendship

I expect this question would be easier to answer when we think about spending time with our spouse, our children, and our friends. Whether the answer is an affirmative or not.

“I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

Friendship with Jesus is something I’ve been reflecting on a for a little while now. Interestingly, it’s become quite topical in the current book business as a n umber of authors have or will soon release books on the subject.

Jesus wants us to be friends. He designed us for friendship with Him. He calls us friends as evidenced by the verse above. How do we be friends with Jesus? I thought it would be interesting to explore this subject over the next few weeks.

Desire

We are creatures of habit. Annie Dillard, a favourite author of many writers, is known for saying, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” For many of us how we spend our days is built around what is important to us, or what we have determined is our purpose in life. Career, family, and relationships tend to fill most of our days and these typically reflect what is important to us.

For many men friendships aren’t something we prioritise. And even if we do, we might find people we are seeking to be friends with don’t prioritise it so it’s all a bit lopsided. The beauty of Jesus is that He places it as a priority. Isn’t that exciting?

If answering the question that prompted this post was difficult perhaps one reason for it is because we haven’t prioritised friendship (or relationship) with Him. Jesus isn’t going to bully us into a friendship with Him. If we don’t see it as being important, and don’t prioritise it, then Jesus is unlikely to force our hand.

Jesus wants to be wanted.

Knowing vs knowing!

Huh? Knowledge of God is important. Studying the Word, even going to Bible College, and listening to speakers, podcasts, reading books, etc, etc are important and good things to do.

We chose our spouses because we first got to know about them. We found we liked them because of what we learnt. We wanted to know them more and more. And through marriage and living together over the years we have become intimately acquainted with them.

Knowing about God is important. It helps us to say yes to Him. Romans 10: 17 confirms it, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

God desires us to know Him intimately, to have an experiential relationship with Him, not just a head-based knowledge. As James Bryan Smith says about God, “Jesus is as real to me as the chair I am sitting on.”

And I believe the first step in having an intimate friendship with God is to want it. To truly desire it. It’s something that gets us out of bed in the morning. God gets excited when we desire what He wants. Friendship.

We’d love to know any thoughts you might have on the question that prompted this post and/or any tips you might have for developing a close friendship with God. Please share away in the comments below.

Note: The question that is the title to this post was prompted by Faith Eury Cho's book, "Experiencing Friendship with God"