Oh What A Friend We Have In Jesus: Repost

Another Question from Emily. Emily: So my teacher is saying that Jesus was not thinking of you or me when he hung on the cross, that the only thing he was thinking of was pleasing the Father.       "It burns me up when I hear songs that say things like "He thought of me above all". That's not true!  He thought of the Father!"       ...I'm not even gonna try and argue with this guy, but I wanted to know what you might say to him at this instance. Andy:  There are a few questions that I would like to ask your professor. 1) What does it mean when the bible says that Abraham was a friend of God?( 2 Chronicles 20: 7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2: 23) What about Moses (Exodus 33:11) and Job (Job 29:4)? 2) Who is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother in Proverbs 18:24? 3) What did Jesus mean when he called His disciples friends in John 15:12-17? Emily: I don't have to ask him, I know what he'd say: "God can call us His friend, but He is not ours.  He is our Holy and majestic Lord and Savior and we should be in awe of Him.  We should fear Him.  We should respect Him. Holy is the only attribute of God that it repeated 3 times in the Bible.  God takes his holiness VERY seriously.  God is not your friend.  I'm so sick of the church dumbing down God.  He is not your friend."  I've honestly never heard of friendship being a one way street, but I'm not fixing to say that to him.  I honestly think that he might have just been offended one to many times by the whole "Jesus is my Homeboy" thing and has gone a little ape over it.  I've definitely slacked off in class participation due to his 'enthusiasm' over certain subjects.  I'm not fixing to try and argue with a man who seems to just be looking for someone to rant his frustrations out to.  He scares some of the other students.  He just gives me a headache, and I check my email while his goes off on his Calvinist rants or his hatred of all things friendship related. Andy:  His being Reformed explains  lot. Reformers in general tend to emphasize God's sovereignty and judgement over his love and mercy. It's not really a surprising view for a Reformist to have. I agree with the statement      " He is our Holy and majestic Lord and Savior and we should be in awe of Him.  We should fear Him.  We should respect Him. Holy is the only attribute of God that it repeated 3 times in the Bible.  God takes his holiness VERY seriously"      that is all true, but that does not mean that we can't have a close and intimate relationship with Him, that I would call friendship. God takes his love very seriously as well. Emily: The thing that I kept getting from him (and he may not have intended this) was that we should make ourselves feel awe and fear for God.  Now, I've done the whole "try your best to create the right feelings because that is what you should be feeling" road.  That's why I left the Methodist church.  I can not make myself feel awe for God, I can not make myself feel anything for God.  Feeling is an internal response to external stimulus.  I love God.  I currently feel anger toward and mistrust of him, and He is the one who is slowly changing that trust and contentment, but that is His job.  Mine is to respond appropriately to Him.  My responsibility is to make the choice of whether to close my heart or open it when God knocks.  I know that doesn't mean I should just sit around and sit on my hands and do nothing, saying God will move me when He wants to.  No.  I'm not that stupid.  But neither am I going to try to 'change' myself under my own power.  Because I've tried that.  All it really is is pretending and lying to myself about how I really feel.  A major thing that God has shown me through all of this is His faithfulness.  When I think I've ignored Him enough that He should be miles away, He is right there, waiting on baited breath to speak to me.  When I think I've hurt His feelings bad enough that He would give up on trying to break through my hurt, He is still standing there, strong and steady as ever.  And to be honest, we all know I'm not somebody who trusts or heals easily or quickly, and it tells me volumes about the character of this Person that he doesn't care howlong it takes, He is never leaving.  He keeps letting me know that I can't outlast Him.  I'm finally starting to get that. So, yeah, I bristle at the idea that because I feel or don't feel certain things towards God that there is something 'wrong' with me.  It all seems to be about the should in those statements.  We should feel awe of God.  We should fear Him.  We should always be kind to everybody even when they treat us badly.  We should always place others before ourselves.  We should feel compassion when face with someone who is in a tough situation.  We should manage our time and money wisely.  We should be concerned about others more than ourselves.  Should.  But don't.  We don't always do these things.  And I would contend that it is not through any work that 'should' turns into 'do'.  It is through God working in our hearts.  And the matter of God working in other peoples hearts in something we should be slow to assume any kind of authority over.  Of course I'm speaking from the position of one extremely sensitive and gun shy girl. Andy:  Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 Given the power of that statement, whether he calls me his friend or I call him mine is kind of a moot point. I believe that Jesus is my "friend" not because I chose him to be, but because he wants to be, because that's the whole point. Its why we have the choice whether or not to sin in the first place. He could have ruled over a universe of loyal devoted slaves if he wanted to, but he did not, HE introduced the possibility of sin into the picture, so that we could choose to love him or not. He is the one who seeks and finds the lost lambs, because he wants a personal relationship. and that is what a friendship is. He is also faithful, he never gives up. Remember, when people try to cow or intimidate you , whether intentionally or not, that you as a believer are a priest of Christ, though they may have more knowledge than you, they are not above you in authority, for ALL believers are the Bride of Christ, No one can tell your value or worth but God himself, and you are his precious child (and a personal friend!)