It's easy to spend time with people we enjoy.
I'm an introvert and though I find myself fading away after a long time in the presence of people, when it's those I enjoy, it's much less difficult - there's shared memories, a deeper level of knowing, conversations to laugh and delight in, discussions to prod reflective thinking.
Friendships are simply a joy.
Would we say the same for our friendship with God?
In Friendship With God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit Mike McKinley shows us how we can.
Friendship with God by Mike McKinley | Book Review
Content
Content
Purpose of the Book
He writes to renew our enjoyment in relationship with the Triune God, by mining spiritual insights from John Owen's classic, Communion with God - a collection of his sermons in the 1600s.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
PART 1 Communion with the Triune God
CHAPTER 1 Saved for Communion
CHAPTER 2 Friendship with the Three in One
PART 2 Communion with the Father
CHAPTER 3 A Loving Father
CHAPTER 4 The Father’s Love and Ours
CHAPTER 5 What the Father’s Children Do
PART 3 Communion with the Son
CHAPTER 6 A Gracious Savior
CHAPTER 7 The Perfect Husband
CHAPTER 8 The Knowledge of Jesus
CHAPTER 9 A True Friend’s Delight
CHAPTER 10 Treasured
CHAPTER 11 Costly Grace
CHAPTER 12 Cleansing Grace
CHAPTER 13 The Drama of Friendship
CHAPTER 14 Looking to Him
CHAPTER 15 In God’s Family
PART 4 Communion with the Spirit
CHAPTER 16 What Could Be Better?
CHAPTER 17 Walking with the Spirit of Comfort
CHAPTER 18 Pouring Out God’s Love
CHAPTER 19 Taught by the Spirit
CHAPTER 20 The Spirit’s Ministry
CHAPTER 21 He’s the Real Thing
CHAPTER 22 The Spirit Who Stoops
CHAPTER 23 What Not to Do
CHAPTER 24 Worshiping the Spirit
CONCLUSION
Summary
Reading an original Christian classic like John Owen’s Communion with God can be daunting with the old language. This book by Mike McKinley is an adaptation, to make it accessible for modern readers so we can enjoy the depth of Owen’s insights in a way we can better understand.
There are 24 short, but meaty chapters walking through the believer’s relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
My Take
Perhaps describing our relationship with God as a friendship is strange to you, I know it has felt foreign to me as well, but John 15:15 reminds us, "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
When it comes to relationships, the author writes, "communion with God consists in his communication of himself to us and our response to him through the means that he has established. Just like our human friendships depend on our being willing to let ourselves be known, so our relationship with God depends on his willingness to let us know what he is like, what pleases him, and what he is doing in the world."
Christ has called us friends because he's made Himself known to us, there's nothing hidden or secret about what He's like. There are aspects we don't understand fully, of course, but the comfort and joy is unpacking these truths, mining them from the storehouse of His Word.
As I've pondered friendship with God, I discovered a stubborn weed growing in the soil of my thoughts. When I consider the delight I have in my friends and in my relationship with the Lord, I don't always believe He experiences that same pleasure with me; it’s my perfectionist, not-good-enough mentality hindering belief and trust in the grace of God.
The author reminds us, “in order to experience fully our friendship with the Lord Jesus, we must believe that he delights in us. That makes sense, because people don’t look forward to spending time with someone who merely tolerates them, or worse, dislikes them.”
There was a significant pause after I read this. Friendship is a two-way street, I delight in Him and yes he delights in me! He has purchased grace for his children through a costly obedience and has offered new life and eternity in him. If he's given so much, how can I not see his pleasure in the gift and in the one receiving it.
So, be encouraged today, God delights in you.
My Recommendation
If you’ve been interested in learning from Christian classics, this resource is a great opportunity to glean from John Owen’s insights.
This will also be helpful for if you’ve been struggling to understand the depth of God’s love for you. You’re going to journey into the Trinity to understand friendship through the lens of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The chapters are short so it can easily be read as a devotional.
Quick Stats
# of pages: 184
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 4 stars
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Scriptures About Friendship With God
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.(Zeph 3:17)
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (Jn 15:15)
He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (Ps 18:19)
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (Jn 15:13)
You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. (Is 62:4)
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Mic 7:18)
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*A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review