What kind of friend do we have in Jesus?

A couple weeks ago someone asked me to identify my very best friend.  It took a bit of thinking.

In two weeks I get to spend some time with Eric, a good buddy of mine from Illinois.  We’ll spend time fishing…talking baseball...laughing…heckling each other… enjoying cool beverages.  Eric and I always have a wonderful time when we get together, though we don’t get to see a lot of each other.  Illinois is just a bit too far away!  From time to time we’ll get on the phone and chat, but those calls are few and far between.  Hey, we’re busy guys!  While for much of the year we’re not in close contact, I know that as soon as we get together we’ll pick up where we left off.  Shannon keeps in pretty close contact with Eric’s wife Erin, so whenever I want to know what Eric is up to I just ask her. 

I’d call Eric one of my best friends.

But when it comes to my very best friend, I think I’d have to say that it’s my wife Shannon.  She’s there in my life every day.  She laughs at (many of) my jokes…she supports me when I feel down…she puts up with my quirks…she’s a lot of fun to talk to…she enjoys many of the things I enjoy.  I’m free to be my weird self around Shannon and she puts up with it.  We share everything in life.  While there are times when we get away just the two of us to focus on the relationship, we have each other every day.  That’s friendship!

These are two very different kinds of relationships.  One is awesome when I’m focusing on it….the other impacts every day!

My relationship with God vacillates between these two kinds of friendships!  There are times when I treat God a bit like Eric.  When I spend time with God it’s awesome, but those experiences come and go.  I spend more time talking ABOUT God than talking TO God.  When I worship I focus more on the service itself and what it’s saying to others and forget that God also speaks to ME!  My daily conversations with God in prayer slide to the wayside.  I allow the busyness of the world to get in the way of my relationship with my savior. 

At other times my relationship with God is a lot more like my relationship with my wife.  I spend focused time with God every day.  I share my daily joys and anxieties.  I recognize that my savior is with me every day, providing for me, caring for me, and loving me.  While there are more intense times of focusing on God’s work in my life, I sense God’s presence every day.

Do I want to treat God as an ‘every once in a while’ savior…or the one who walks with me every day?  For me, the choice is clear!  It’s time to quit talking ABOUT God…and get back to talking TO God!