I called you friend.

This morning I got up to pray; I had done something that I was not proud of, and I wanted to make things right with the Lord. I had already confessed them to the Lord, but the joy and relationship was not quite up to par. I felt that we needed to talk. After spending some time in prayer, I went back to bed for a while before getting up for Church. As I got into the worship service, I just could not sense the presence of God in the worship. I did wonder, what was wrong with the worship team. Something was not right. I knew better because I knew that our hearts in the principal thing.

As I stood there I heard the Lord tell me “friends don’t do treat each other like that. I am hurt! It was like he told me, friend discuss things more intimately and reach solution not just forgiveness. What you felt was not my unforgiveness, but my pain. He said, Robert, I want to be your friend. I want to walk with you because I love you and I love being around you. Trust me enough to discuss these issues with me. Now the presence of God was all over me. This was new to me, but real. As the Pastor started his message. He started teaching on the very same things the Lord shared with me. He repeated what I sense the Lord say to me.  

What if God called you a friend? What if as a friend he would open his heart to you and let you know that he is hurt? How could that be possible? Greater love has no man then that you lay your life down for a friend.  Yes, we are children of God because we come from his spirit. We are his servants because he needs us to represent him here on earth. We are also co-labors with him. But when you have a friend, there are different expectations. Things you won’t expect from a son or a servant. There are times of intimacy and violating a friendship hurt more than when you’re just a son or servant. In fact, you will be called to be all three at different times.

I heart a story once of a General who had a friend that was a simple soldier. The soldier was pretty proud to have this General as his friend. The soldier eventually got in trouble on base, he called on the General to bail him out. The General on the other hand was harder on him than the sergeant that reprimanding him, The soldier asked the General why he didn’t help him but made it worse for him than if he just didn’t ask for help? The General replied that as a friend he held him to a higher standard. You can not be known as my friend and break the rules simply because I’m your friend.