2015: The Year of Friendship

Since I was very young, I was in awe of God. I saw His might in creation, I believed in His infinite greatness, I read stories of His power. He was King to me, King over everything, wonderful, good and sovereign. But He was King on a high throne, and I was just a nobody among a million subjects. He knew all about me and loved me, yes, but that I might just catch His eye for a moment as He rode through the crowd was a big enough hope. Then I got older and realized that I wasn't just a subject, I was His daughter. So, slowly, He became Father to me. I had free access to His throne, whenever I needed Him, for any reason. Not only did He know me and love me, He wanted to be involved in every part of my life; He delighted in me because I belonged to Him. But He was still King. Surely the throne room is no place for a blundering child, at least not all the time. That He might just smile at me and grant my childish wishes was a big enough hope.

It was easy to know God as King, a perfect King whose Lordship cannot be disputed. It took time and courage to understand what He was like as a perfect Father, never too busy, never grudging my requests, always patient and kind. This year, I began to realize that He was inviting me to come even closer: He wanted to be my Friend. That too was hard to understand at first. How could He, the infinite God, treat me as if I were an equal, be so open as to share His heart with me? But somehow, He wants me to be with Him, so much that He left His throne to become like me, experience everything I've experienced. He knows, not just as a King overseeing His realm, not just as a Father picking up a stumbling little one, but as a Friend walking every path right beside me. Jesus knows what pain feels like. He knows about rejection, misunderstanding, loneliness and betrayal far better than I do. No matter what I may face, He feels it with me, and He understands completely. He laughs with me in the good times, cries with me in the bad times, and He is always faithful. He will always be with me, and I with Him. Even when I fail Him, He will never let me down. What a tremendous honor it is to be the friend of a King!

"No longer do I call you servants,

for a servant does not know what

his master is doing; but

I have called you friends,

for all things that I have heard from

My Father I have made known to you."

John 15:15