Words to Stand On - I Am A Friend of God

Have you ever seen a situation where one person doesn't like another? Then, some type of conflict forces them to work things out and they become friends - sometimes best friends. If you had asked them before the conflict if they could be friends the answer would be a definite "no."



When I was in the third grade, a little girl and I seemed to clash over everything. She just seemed to be at odds with whatever I did.  If  I said the sky was blue, she'd say it was gray.  If  I said it was cold, she'd say it was hot. We were the top two students in the class and our rivalry seemed to spill over into everything, especially the playground.


It even got into name-calling.  My last name was Winn, so she felt it was funny to sing "Winners, win up with Malt-O-Meal (a popular commercial at the time) every time she saw me.  Her last name was Salsbury, so I'd come back with "Oh, yeah?  I think I feel like having a salsbury steak!" (I was sharp like that.)


Our teacher, being the wise woman she was, decided to have us work on a special project together.  So many years have passed now that I can't remember what the project was, but I do remember that we both felt interested and important working on it.  Once we really put our minds together to accomplish something, we found common ground. 


We ended up being friends and even went to each other's houses for play dates!


Did you know that all of us started out life being enemies of God?


"This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." Colossians 1:21-22


That's the ultimate enemy-turning-into-friend story! God so awesomely redeemed us through His death on the cross and He would been more than justified to make us His slaves for all of our past transpressions, yet He chooses to have us as His friends!  You can't get a better deal than that!


It boggles my mind that He'd want me for a friend.  I'm not good friend material at all. Yet He overlooks my shortcomings and even says in His word that He makes me holy, blameless and without a single fault in the presence of God. It's amazing!


I think the following song says it all:

I AM A FRIEND OF GOD

By Israel Houghton

VERSE:

Who am I that you are mindful of me

That you hear me, when I call

Is it true that you are thinking of me

How you love me, it's amazing (Who am I Lord)

CHORUS:

I am a friend of God

I am a friend of God

I am a friend of God

He calls me friend

BRIDGE:

God Almighty

Lord of Glory

You have called me friend

The above post was written to kick-off my new weekly feature, Words to Stand On.  Each Tuesday, I'll examine a scripture and apply it to every day life.  I hope you'll join me!