Sharing Love From Sweden - FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD AND FRIENDSHIP WITH EACH OTHER - Eva Haglund

FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD 

AND FRIENDSHIP WITH EACH OTHER

Eva Haglund, Sweden

Sometimes things done for God seem more important for Christians than the relationship with God. But God wants us to have the relation with Him as first place - not what we do for Him. Visions must not take first place. Some are never at home as they go about many things, but the relationship with God needs time seeking Him.  

We can read in the Bible in Luke 10:38, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary,  who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Here we learn that the relation with Jesus ought to take the first place. Mary was taking time with Jesus and sat at His feet.

We can understand that David spent much time  in his relationship with God, as we see when we read the psalms.

Jesus spent time in fellowship with the disciples. In John 21 He fixed a warm fire, breakfast and had fellowship, after the disciples had been out with the boat fishing. It is written in verse 12 that Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” It was at this occasion in fellowship, in verse 17, that Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.” He wants us to spend time with Him and have Him as his friend, not one who just comes and ask things from.

In Song of Solomon 6:3 we find the words “I am my beloved`s and my beloved is mine.” I  am  thinking about the relation with Jesus here - the friendship with Him.  I also think worship is important.  David had learned this and also Paul. We read when he worshiped in the prison in Acts 16:25, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” In worship God is in the center. In Ps.113:1 we read, "Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!" In Ps.149:3 is written, "Let them praise His name with the dance." So we can also praise God with dance as God is in the center and He is honored.

God wants us to take time in prayer and  we also need to spend time with the Word, reading the Bible. God is love (1 John.4:8) and  we need to learn to know this God of love more. In Eph.3:17 Paul prays that "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love, what is the width and length and depth and height - to KNOW THE LOVE of Christ which passes knowledge , that you may be felled with all the fullness of God."

If God is love then love is important.

Sometimes friendship and fellowship is not counted as so important among some Christians but Jesus say in John 15 to His disciples, “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Jesus does not just mean to say hello but to have real friendship  and care for each other. I think He showed this when He washed the feet of the disciples. It is like a picture of showing care and love  among Christians.  Jesus also showed practical care at the beach. He fixed a warm fire and made breakfast with fish and bread. Jesus talks about friendship when He says “Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one`s life for his friends.”

The greatest love in friendship is then one is willing to give his life for a friend.  I also think we can get back relationships as Job and Joseph got back. We can have friends globally as we are in Body of Christ, but I think it is also good when we have friends who do not live so far away,  as  Ps.133:1 tells us.

It says “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” In 1 Cor.12 it is written about how we are members in a body who need each other. As members in a usual body need each other, each part has value.  The “hand” needs the “foot”. In a church building, the church is not a building but we need each other with different gifts with Jesus as the head. Then Christians also need a place to have meetings in. 

In the Old Testament we read about David and Jonathan's friendship in Scripture in 1 Sam. 20.

We can also understand that Elijah and Elisha in the Bible were friends. I think Elijah was Elisha's spiritual father and a close  friend. In 2 Cor. 2 I think that Elijah was a dear friend to Elisha when  when he knew that Elijah would go to heaven and said in verse 2:2 ”As the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you.”

In John 17:21 Jesus prays for Christians “that they all may be one as your Father is in me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” I think He talks about the love in the Body of Christ as we get from God and love as a testimony. I think God wants to restore more of real friendship in the Body of Christ where it needs more.

In Rev.3:20 is written, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.” If anyone does not know Jesus, He is knocking at the door and wants to come in.

Jesus (Yeshua)  is a real friend – the best Friend who gave His life for us because of His love for us (Isaiah 53).