THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE LORD

*Script of a message delivered in Anderson Hall, MCC

Hymn:

'What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear…'

Bible passage:

Who is the man who fears the LORD?

Him will he instruct in the way that He should choose…

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him,

and he makes known to them the secrets of His covenant.

~ Psalm 25: 12,14

Message:

When I first came across this verse, a particular phrase stood out to me- "the friendship of the Lord". To me, it seemed to be something infinitely precious, a great privilege and honor, to have "the friendship of the Lord". Friendship indicates a deep, intimate relationship or bond between equals. And for us, mere mortal beings, to be able to enjoy such intimacy and closeness with the God of all the universe is a marvel and wonder that leaves me, when I ponder over it, in grateful awe.

Again in the book of Daniel, this is how the Angel of God greets a weak and trembling Daniel, "O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you." Again God is extending to this mere human being, an assurance of his friendship and a desire for closeness. He is speaking, not from a place of stern authority, but with deepest tenderness and sympathy.

Sometimes, we forget that our faith is not a cold & dead religion. And our relation to God is not one dictated by fear and compulsion. As is written in 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." We have the privilege of enjoying a loving, intimate friendship with God that has the potential to be purer and deeper than any of our human relationships. We have Christ, that "Friend who sticks closer than a brother", who himself suffered and died on the Cross to enable us to draw close to God. So after His resurrection, He was able to say "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." 

Though the world often sees and speaks of our faith as a religion or ideology, it is actually so much more than that. Unlike the many false religions of the world, our faith is based on a relationship of love, trust and intimacy between each of us and God, our Father, Friend and Saviour. Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, "The act of faith by which a man accepts Christ's grace has an intensely individual character. As if there were not a single other soul on earth, I and He must meet, and in solitude as deep as that of death, each man for himself must yield to incarnate love, and receive eternal life! 

Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know!" Let us call out to God and draw near to Him, so that He will draw near to each of us. Strive to cultivate a personal relationship with Christ and to grow in such closeness and intimacy with Him, that at the end of your life, there will be nothing but a mere breath separating you from God. As a hymn writer wrote long ago, 

"Here, O my soul, thy trust repose;

If Jesus is for ever mine,

Not death itself, that last of foes,

Shall break a union so divine!"