“Abraham…was called the friend of God” –James 2:23. Abraham was no one special…just a rather common nomad who lived in a tent wandering from place to place in a bleak desert over 2000 years before Christ. Life involved heat and cold and sheep and goats–no friendly pooches, sorry  :  ) –and a small group of simple people. But he sought to know the God of the universe. And this God loved His little man.

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One of the really beautiful things about being loved by God deals with our shortcomings and weaknesses. All of us are trying to do well in the foray of life with different hidden handicaps, some caused by ourselves (everyone has to deal with this) and some not. Some deficiencies are inherited, of no fault of our own.

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If we are tuned decently, we realize that God meets us each new day. He does this in many ways. One is with the reminder that He is the One who really matters. When everything is said and done and we stand before the One who built and sustains the universe and who gave us existence, what will matter more than being one who pleased Him?

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And pleasing Him is not beyond us. It’s merely taking every new hour with all its joys and problems and seeking to bless Him with our responses, thanksgivings and initiations. And part of pleasing Him, thankfully, also involves coming to Him with our needs and mess-ups and receiving His comfort, forgiveness and help. And it helps a lot if we enter each new day in all our weakness knowing that He is the only One who can help us do really well.

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This is all part of having the best purpose in life…being a friend of God.

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John 13:23 “The disciple whom Jesus loved (John).” Like Abraham, John was unimpressive… an ordinary fisherman, a younger brother…but he did want to be with His God…and this simple desire meant everything to the Maker of the Stars.

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Don Miller, CWS 2020 //

Image: ID “10156583522371537.” Lambing Season 202. Harvest Home Farm. Via Facebook. 22 Mar. 2020. some