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My Father, My Friend

My Dad sent me a friend request on Facebook recently. I looked down on my phone and saw my Dad's name followed by the words, 'wants to be friends.' I gladly accepted.

As I accepted his friend request, my heart was drawn into something I've been pondering lately - Friendship with my Father. It's amazing how friendship with my parents has happened. I can't tell you when it exactly happened, but somewhere along the way I became friends with my parents and not just a daughter. In fact, I don't call my parents because I have to...I really want to check on them, share my feelings with them, and just tell them about the mundane things of my day. Why? Because we're friends. Just yesterday I called my mom to see how her day was going. As I hung up the phone with her I thought about my teen years - back when I was much smarter than she was and couldn't stand it when she wanted to know every little detail of my day, let alone my Life! As my mind wandered back to the present, I was once again struck with the power of friendship with my parents. Friendship with my parents is exactly how friendship should be: they know me completely. They've seen me in my diapers, they've seen me throwing tantrums,they've watched me grow in maturity, moving on to new phases of life. I can be myself and trust that, although they really know me better than anyone, they'll always be there for me.

Of course, as a believer, this truth has an entirely different outlet. God is my precious Father...and somewhere along the way, He's become my friend. I can't tell you when it exactly happened, but I became more than a daughter. I don't obey Him because I'm suppose to - I do it because I love to. I don't 'call' him because I have to - I love to check on Him, share my feelings with Him, and just tell Him about the mundane things of my day. And, like with my earthly father, friendship with God is the purest kind...only greater. If my earthly parents can know me on my worst day and still call me friend, how much more so my perfect, heavenly father? Hmmmm....reminds me of something Jesus said one time: "what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:9-11)."

Years ago I was teaching on the subject of growing with God. I told my students that we move from servanthood, to friendship, to sonship, to bride in our relationship with Him - servant, friend, child, bride. That was then. But now? I am really thinking that I had a couple of those backwards. You see, years ago I was still growing in my friendship with my parents. I wasn't even aware that I was becoming their friend. I thought friendship wasn't as intimate as being a daughter. But now that I'm older...now that I'm friends with my parents...I think I see that friendship as a child has a richer intimacy than friendship without it. As a daughter, I may know what my father is like...but I don't know the pressures of bills he has to pay, burdens that weigh him down, or dreams that he may dream. Now that I'm a friend? I have much more insight to the inner workings of his heart. I have moved from mere sonship into the richness of friendship. Oh, the wondrous thought of this advancement with my Heavenly Father! To not merely know He is God or even that He is good...but to know what's on His heart, what burdens He is bearing, what dreams He is dreaming...this is friendship at its purest.

I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way I became God's friend and He became mine. He didn't send me a friend request...no...somewhere along the way, without me even realizing it, I slipped my hand into His as a child only to look down and see I was holding the hand of my friend. My God, My Father...my friend.

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