6月1日

標　　題：神的朋友

經　　節：以後我不再稱你們為僕人，因僕人不知道主人所做的事。我乃稱你們為朋友；因我從我父所聽見的，已經都告訴你們了。（約翰福音十五章15節）

作神的朋友不是你的選擇，作神的朋友乃是出自神的邀請。舊約中清楚記載，有兩個人是「神的朋友」。亞伯拉罕與神親密同行，神稱他是祂的朋友（以賽亞書四十一：8）。摩西與神面對面像朋友一樣地談話（出埃及記卅三：11）。

神真正的本性是願意作我們的朋友。在我們無以為報的情況下，祂以完全的愛來愛我們，並且賜下救恩給我們。某人願意把自己奉獻給神，和神主動開始一份特殊的友誼，是兩回事。大衛全心全意地將自己奉獻給神（列王紀上十一：4）。大衛雖然不是無罪，然而他愛神。大衛厭惡罪惡（詩篇一○三：3），他熱愛敬拜神（詩篇一二二：1），他真誠地喜愛神的同在（撒母耳記下六：14），他喜愛談論神（詩篇卅四：1），他敏銳地知道自己所犯的過錯（詩篇五十一：3∼4），他不求回報，喜愛獻上詩歌、感謝與讚美的禮物給神（詩篇一○○篇）。大衛與神是那麼親密地同行，耶穌被釘十字架時，心裡想的就是祂的話（馬太福音廿七：46）。

耶穌稱自己的門徒為朋友。祂說祂會將天父賜予自己的一切分享給他們，因為他們是祂的朋友。祂與門徒彼此關係親密，祂願意與自己的朋友分享心中的意念。

倘若你不認為自己是神的朋友，你當全心全意地定意尋求神。

Friends of God

"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 15:15)

You do not choose to be a friend of God. That is by invitation only. Only two people in the Old Testament were specifically described as "friends of God." Abraham walked with the Lord so closely that God referred to him as His friend (Isa. 41:8). Moses spoke to God face to face as a man speaks with his friend (Exod. 33:11).

By His very nature God is a friend to us. He loves us with a perfect love and reaches out to us with salvation when we can offer Him nothing in return. It is quite another thing when someone has a heart so devoted to Him that God initiates a special friendship. David's heart was totally devoted to God (1 Kings 11:4). Although David was not sinless, he loved God. David hated sin (Ps. 103:3); he loved to worship God (Ps. 122:1); he took genuine delight in God's presence (2 Sam. 6:14); he loved to speak about God (Ps. 34:1); he was keenly aware of his transgressions (Ps. 51:3–4); and he delighted in offering gifts of song, thanksgiving, and praise, asking for nothing in return (Ps. 100). So closely did David walk with God that his words were on Jesus' mind as He hung upon the cross (Matt. 27:46).

Jesus called His disciples friends. He said He would disclose to them things that the Father had shared with Him, because they were His friends. There developed such an intimate friendship between them that He would share what was on His heart with His friends.

If you cannot describe yourself as a friend of God, commit yourself to seek after God with all your heart.