This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. - John 15:12-15 (NKJV)

Let's study the Scripture above and see what it means to be a friend of Jesus. The first thing that we should notice about this Scripture is that love is involved. We learned in the other chapters that love has to exist between friends. You cannot be a friend with someone you do not love. We also learned about the different kinds of love. Of the four that we learned about, Agape or the Divine love of God is the highest kind of love. 

As we read on, there's something new to this kind of friendship. The bible says, "You are my friends if you do whatever I command you." Jesus equates friendship with being obedient to Him. Did Abraham meet that qualification? And if He did, what exactly did he do? Do you want to learn more about Abraham? Okay! Let's search the scriptures together. 

Abraham was an obedient friend of God 

 Now the Lord had said to Abram:"Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. - Genesis 12:1 (NKJV)

You cannot obey God if you do not have faith. What is faith? According to Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." What did God ask Abraham to do? God says, "Get out of your country. To a land I will show you." Abraham didn't know where he was going. But He trusted God. God and Abraham were friends. Don't you trust your friends? Abraham had faith. Let's see if he actually did what God wanted him to do. 

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. - Genesis 12:4 (NKJV)

Where was Abraham going? God tells him to leave and you see the man go. What a friendship! This is exactly what Jesus is talking about. How does this relate to relationships? How does this relate to your relationship status? Let me ask you a question? As a wife, will you submit to your husband? Submission requires you to be obedient. As a husband, will you submit to your wife as well? As a husband, will you have qualities that are worth submitting to? Friendship builds trust in a relationship. Much as I am writing about having a good relationship with people, my emphasis is on having a good relationship with God. Don't neglect God in pursuit of a godly relationship. You cannot have a godly relationship without God. Abraham just obeyed. And His obedience got him pinned onto the wall of fame. We have a wall of fame in the Bible. It's found in the chapter of Hebrews 11. 

Painful acts of obedience: Short detour 

We know that Abraham did have a child eventually. But let's quickly look at what happened before He had his son. I cannot go through all the chapters, but I'll quickly pick it up from Genesis 12. In Genesis 15, Abraham is tired. He is anxious. And he really wants a son. God comforts him and reminds him that God is his reward. In other words, whether Abraham had a son or not, he still had his friend God. (See Genesis 15:1) 

Genesis 16 starts off with Sarah complaining about her state. She's also tired of waiting and so she suggest that Abraham visits Sarah's maid. Things happen, and later on, Ishmael is born. 

In Genesis 17, God speaks to Abraham again and reminds Abraham of the covenant he had with him. Because when things do not happen in our plans, we forget what God promised us. God had to remind Abraham. 

Genesis 18 is the story we covered yesterday. Part of it anyway. In Genesis 19, Stuff happens in Sodom and Gomorrah. In genesis 20 Abraham is forced to Journey to another city where he finally has his son of promise. In Genesis 21, Isaac is born!  I wanted to share a little on each chapter because it's important to study a bit on the life of Abraham to understand why he did what he did. Let's finally look at the painful act of obedience that Abraham had to pay. 

Isaac: The son of Abraham

Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." - Genesis 22:2 (NKJV)

The bible says, "take now your son, your only son Isaac." But let's back up a bit. Was Isaac the only son of Abraham? No! In Genesis 16, there's a little boy named Ishmael who is born through Hagar. Isaac wasn't the only son. Ishmael was as much  a son of Abraham as Isaac was. But God says, " Your only son Isaac." WHY? God recognizes what He orchestrates. When He made a covenant with Abraham to have a child. He wanted Abraham and Sarah to have their child of promise. Not Abraham and Hagar. That's why when Abraham's son through Hagar was born, he wasn't named Isaac. Isaac was the child of promise. He was the child that God wanted Abraham to have. What God wants for us is more important than what we want for ourselves. Ishmael was a blessed man actually. However, we don't read much about him. But Isaac, of course we know Isaac. What God orchestrates, He advances. It's important for God to be involved in your relationships.

What did Abraham do? 

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. - Genesis 22:6(NKJV)

God asked Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering. That's a very difficult thing to do. Imagine waiting so long to be in a relationship. You learned. You prepared. You fasted. You prayed and only to be told by God to break up. Would you do it? Abraham was ready to offer his son. Abraham had two sons, but there was only one Isaac. And even this son, he didn't withhold from his friend. What is friendship according to Jesus?  Friendship is : "You are my friends if you do whatever I command you." Abraham did qualify. He qualified to be a friend of both God and Jesus. 

I obeyed, now what?

And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. - Genesis 22:12;16-17 (NKJV)

Obeying God attracts God's blessings in our lives. Doing what God wants us to do allows us to continue in steadfastness with Him. Disobedience disconnects us from God. Disobedience makes us estranged from God. Being single right now might be the best thing you ever did as you grow in God. God is our reward. God is all we have. God is our friend. 

What's the deeper meaning of Genesis 22?

Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." - Genesis 22:12 (NKJV)

Jesus is being described here. We know Abraham had more than one son. Jesus is the only son of God that was offered as a ransom for our sins. Jesus is the word of God. Jesus is who we need. He is the one we need to have a relationship with. Where else can we see Jesus in this portion of scripture?

 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. - Genesis 22:13 (NKJV)

A ram is a male sheep or a lamb. Jesus is the lamb that was offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. The bible says, "So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son." Jesus died in our place. We deserved death. We deserved punishment, but Jesus died in our place. Today, I am asking you to make Jesus your highest priority and especially in choosing friends. Our relationships should manifest Jesus and not quench Him. Shalom. 

Note: Hey readers! Thank you so much for reading! May God bless you. Today's chapter is long. I have been personally blessed by Genesis 22 and the life of Abraham in helping us see God as our friend. Last night as I prepared, God showed me a different revelation of this chapter. Thank you for getting this far. God bless you for reading!