Holy, Sovereign Lord? or BFF?
While we were at the Passion Conference, Matt Redman played a song that has a line that says, "Thank you for the cross, my friend." After we sang it, someone told me that they didn't like that song because it she thought it was weird to call Jesus "my friend." She said, "He not my friend, he's my God who died on a cross for me." This week at church, Mike made a comment about how we sometimes take the idea of Jesus being our buddy beyond the bounds of the bible. That comment made me think about the conversation about Matt Redman's song, but it also made me think of a conversation I had in college with one of my roommates who is not a Christian: She'd come to church with us for some special occasions, but she told me that she didn't like the church we went to, because they always talked about Jesus like he's one of your buddies, like "he's hanging out, sitting in the back seat of a car smoking pot with you." (that's a direct quote.)
My instinct is to say, "No, Jesus is my friend!" He is a "friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). I think about how Abraham was called God's friend (James 2:23), and about how many times Jesus called people friend (Luke 5:20, John 15:14) in the New Testament.
Now I say this knowing full well that I struggle with coming to God with the awe and reverence that he requires and deserves. The revered Jesus is always secondary to the Jesus that goes with me everywhere I go. I'm guessing that growing up in church, I learned more about Jesus as my friend than about any other aspect of him. So I guess my question is, which is it? Holy Lord and Savior of the World or close, intimate friend? I believe he is both, but can either one be taken too far, to the point where we (we= me, you, the Church, whoever) are missing a big part of who God is? Are we pushing too much of one and not enough of the other? And how do we come to a God that we are to have an intimate relationship with, yet also come with fear and reverence? Is it weird to thank Jesus for the cross and in the same breath call him friend?
Like I said, I struggle with leaning more toward the friend side, but I know there is a balance somewhere in there, I just haven't really thought much about it until recently. I'd love to hear what you guys think.
My instinct is to say, "No, Jesus is my friend!" He is a "friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). I think about how Abraham was called God's friend (James 2:23), and about how many times Jesus called people friend (Luke 5:20, John 15:14) in the New Testament.
Now I say this knowing full well that I struggle with coming to God with the awe and reverence that he requires and deserves. The revered Jesus is always secondary to the Jesus that goes with me everywhere I go. I'm guessing that growing up in church, I learned more about Jesus as my friend than about any other aspect of him. So I guess my question is, which is it? Holy Lord and Savior of the World or close, intimate friend? I believe he is both, but can either one be taken too far, to the point where we (we= me, you, the Church, whoever) are missing a big part of who God is? Are we pushing too much of one and not enough of the other? And how do we come to a God that we are to have an intimate relationship with, yet also come with fear and reverence? Is it weird to thank Jesus for the cross and in the same breath call him friend?
Like I said, I struggle with leaning more toward the friend side, but I know there is a balance somewhere in there, I just haven't really thought much about it until recently. I'd love to hear what you guys think.
posted by Melanie at 4:59 PM
3 Comments:
The other night at Fuel this came up as we were studying the Church of Smyrna in Revelation. I don't even remember how it came up, but as we went on, it certainly defined some things in my heart. In the early days of my faith I found myself so intimate with Jesus, because I felt so warm in his love and I was so afraid to leave his side because I could remember how cold the world is.
As time has gone on I've found myself actually struggling with that aspect because with each day that I experience God the more awesome he becomes to me. Its like I find myself taking a step back everyday, not away from him, just to get a more distanced perspective of how big he is.
With all the talk of Revelation and the universe down in Little Vegas and at Passion, I've found myself staring upward and walking backwards with even more breathless awe...but I know God offers me intimacy as well.
In trying to reconcile these things, I wrote a little devo the other night called Big & Close. I've found myself looking at the universe and seeing God's presense in the air around me...its apparent infinity. But when I explore further I find him in the air in my lungs as well, my tiny little lungs.
Wow, he's that big and he's that close.
The Big & Close thing is something that seemed to make more sense to me than "Big & Small; Far & Near". I'd love to read your devo, Austin.
Also, someone in Fuel mentioned that perhaps the Trinity is the perfect example of this...the fact that God is in community with himself, and reveals himself to us in the Trinity. Perahps that is an acceptable, but not adequate approach: Father, Son, Spirit, each representing a level of intimacy with us.
I struggle with this perspective, because it removes my intimacy with the Father, which seems to contradict the way Jesus taught the disciples to pray ("Daddy..."). And the Son...while in my mind he's the comfortable/approachable man in the white robe and sandals, reclining beside of me at dinner, he is still the Ancient of Days. He is first-born over all creation and those flames from his eyes are nothing like the candle on my coffee table. The Spirit too, is a mixture of stormy, gale-force winds and pillars and tongues of fire, but he lives within me soothing my soul as if it is standing outside and swaying with the trees. The Spirit brings my whole existence into creation-like rhythm.
But like we shared at Fuel, I too am vulnerable to the occasional "preference" of God. Depending on where I stand in His will, I can wear the lens of the Almighty or the brother or the Comforter. This may not add any clarity, but at least you will observe that we stand together seeing God uniquely and in community. The real miracle is that he lets us know him at all...
test comment...to see if this email thing works...
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