Sunday, March 06, 2005

Friendship Restored

Some days I'm just in absolute awe of God's timing and of how He works things out. I've had several of those days lately. I feel so blessed to see God working and moving in ways that I had hoped for or prayed about for so long.

Last night was another awe-inspiring moment. A friend of mine came over to talk. We've been friends for several years, but for the past couple of years, for various reasons, we had grown apart and were not as close as we once were. It was a closeness that I missed and mourned, but I reasoned that most friendships tend to wax and wane, and that if we were meant to be close again, then God would bring that about.

My friend wanted to share her own sense of loss of friendship with me, and how she wanted it to be restored. It really took me by surprise--I'd had no idea that she had missed me as much as I'd missed her. It was a great moment for us to reconnect and open up with each other in a way that we hadn't in a very long time. That God saw fit to bring about restoration in this friendship is an answered prayer.

Not to be outdone by the restoration of an earthly friendship, today God reminded me of an even greater restoration that He has brought about. I'm studying the book of Romans, and part of my reading this morning happened to be about God restoring us to friendship with Him. (Coincidence? I don't think so.)

"For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God." Romans 5:10-11

Notice that we were restored to friendship with God while we were still His enemies. Can you imagine anything more risky than wanting to be friends with your enemy, and being willing to sacrifice your only son in order to have that friendship? And this is a very flawed friendship, at least on my end. The lengths that God goes to to pursue me and reconcile me to Him is, well, awe-inspiring. To be called God's friend is maybe the highest compliment I can ever receive.

1 comment:

Donna G said...

What a great way to bring that verse home. I can be a really neglectful earthly friend and how much more do I neglect the One who loved me even when I was the most unlovely. Thanks for the reminder.