“There will be those who will see the glory of Jehovah, the splendor of our God. . . . He himself will come and save you people.”—Isa. 35:2, 4.
FRIENDSHIP with God, or friendship with the world—which do you choose? If you love life, you will choose friendship with God, because he is the Source of life, but the wicked system of this world is at enmity with God, and is soon to pass away. (Jas. 4:4; http://biblize.com/search?q=Jas.+4:4;&q_scope=
1 John 2:15-17) http://biblize.com/search?q=John+2:15-17&q_scope=
Friendship with God is something to cultivate zealously, even as Abraham cultivated it. “His faith worked along with his works and by his works his faith was perfected, and the scripture was fulfilled which says: ‘Abraham put faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness,’ and he came to be called ‘Jehovah’s friend.’” (Jas. 2:22, 23)http://biblize.com/search?q=Jas.+2:22,+23&q_scope=
You, too, can become Jehovah’s friend.
What will friendship with God mean to those who choose it? For man upon this earth, it will include the enjoyment of paradise restored and spread earth wide. Even the desert plain is to “be joyful and blossom as the saffron.” (Isa. 35:1;http://biblize.com/search?q=Isa.+35:1&q_scope=
Rev. 21:3, 4) http://biblize.com/search?q=Rev.+21:3,+4&q_scope=
The entire wealth of that paradise earth will be God’s gift to man, to be enjoyed without fear of the divisions, hatreds, wars and commercial greed that afflict groaning mankind today. (Ps. 115:16;http://biblize.com/search?q=Ps.+115:16;&q_scope=
Does this mean, then, a materialistic society for mankind? Not at all! For the most glorious feature of the restored paradise is its spirituality. The grand restoration prophecies of the Bible, including those at Isaiah chapters 2, 9, 35, 65 and 66, have their finest fulfillment in a spiritual sense. Indeed, it is because the remnant of the “little flock” of true Christians on earth today have been restored to their spiritual “land” of friendship with God that the way has been opened for “other sheep,” also, to be brought into this spiritual paradise, and later an earthwide paradise.—Isa. 66:8-14; http://biblize.com/search?q=Isa.+66:8-14&q_scope=
Unlike the animals, some of which lived out their life-spans in the original earthly paradise, man was made to live also in a spiritual paradise, to have close relationship with the great Spirit, Jehovah God. God, therefore, gave man an appreciation of moral values. It is stated at Genesis 1:27: “God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.” This could be no fleshly material image, for God is spirit. But God implanted in the original human pair the same praiseworthy attributes that he himself exhibits in marvelous balance. (1 John 4:11, 12;http://biblize.com/search?q=1+John+4:11,+12&q_scope=
As a spiritually minded, moral creature, perfect man was equipped to subdue the earth into a global paradise reflecting in every way the glories of Jehovah’s spiritual realm.—Isa. 11:6-9.http://biblize.com/search?q=Isa.+11:6-9&q_scope=
But alas! there came rebellion. Man lost friendship with God. Gone was his spiritual paradise, and, rightly, Jehovah drove him out of the Edenic paradise. But the glory of Jehovah’s wisdom now came to be displayed in a wonderful way. Though his righteous eyes could not look with approval on the defects and crookedness of disobedient mankind, yet he made provision so that those who exercise faith in him may return to the intimacy of his friendship. How? Through the loving gift of his Son.—Gen. 3:17-19, 23;http://biblize.com/search?q=Gen.+3:17-19,+23&q_scope=
Hab. 1:12, 13; http://biblize.com/search?q=Hab.+1:12,+13&q_scope=
Deut. 32:3, 4.http://biblize.com/search?q=Deut.+32:3,+4.&q_scope=
It was a noble sacrifice on the part of the Father in sending this beloved Son to earth—to be reviled, spit upon, tortured and murdered under a charge of blasphemy against the very God whom he so loyally obeyed. On the part of the Son, it was a hard sacrifice to suffer these indignities, to be rejected and cast out by the very ones for whom he came to provide salvation, surrendering even his soul in death. Surely, “no one has love greater than this.” (John 15:13)
Indeed, the loyal love of both Father and Son provides a magnificent example for us. The more we come to appreciate the outstanding quality of this love, the more we should want to associate in the true Christian congregation, where the quality of this love prevails as “a perfect bond of union.”—Col. 3:14.http://biblize.com/search?q=Col.+3:14&q_scope=
As a mature Christian living in the spiritual paradise of the first-century congregation, the apostle John deeply appreciated this quality of love. That is why his Gospel and his three letters positively glow with appreciative love. As a most intimate associate of Jesus and a friend of God, he faithfully reports under inspiration Jesus’ own statements on love, including his soul-stirring prayer on that last night with his disciples: “Righteous Father, the world has, indeed, not come to know you; but I have come to know you, and these have come to know that you sent me forth. And I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them.”—John 17:25, 26.http://biblize.com/search?q=John+17:25,+26&q_scope=
What a grand union! This love and friendship with God and Jesus is truly something to be cultivated. Yes, cultivated, for as long as we live in human imperfection, weeds are prone to take root in our personalities. These must be plucked out continually, so that there will be no obstacle to feeding the soil of good hearts with timely nourishment from God’s Word. How better can this be done than by making active association in the congregation of God’s own people the big thing in our lives? Thus, in having God as our Friend, we may truly say, “As for us, we love, because he first loved us.”—1 John 4:19; http://biblize.com/search?q=1+John+4:19&q_scope=
1 Pet. 4:1-3;http://biblize.com/search?q=1+Pet.+4:1-3&q_scope=
Ps. 84:10; 149:1.http://biblize.com/search?q=Ps.+84:10;+149:1&q_scope=
Friendship is the cooperative and supportive relationship between people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection, and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. Their tastes will usually be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as the exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. Yet for some, the practical execution of friendship is little more than the trust that someone will not harm them.
No comments:
Post a Comment