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by Bob Mumford (Author)
Within the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit there is a circle of friendship between the Trinity and we are being invited into it. When Jesus started His journey with the disciples, one of His goals was friendship-He wanted to reveal Father's secrets to them. Before He could do that, He had to work them through a few "relational" problems like calling down fire on their enemies, competing for the best positions, self-confidence, fear of man, and betrayal. When they had learned their lessons, He began to reveal His heart to them, offering them a degree of intimacy that is difficult to grasp. Real friendship involves trust and intimacy, not over-familiarity. In this Plumbline, Bob gives us four ingredients common to friendship and to basic human need and shows us that if a relationship is always directed to you or from you, it is not reciprocal. God is calling us into a true friendship with Himself and with men and women in the body of Christ. Every one of us has developed elaborate escape mechanisms and use both self-protection and control as barriers to intimacy in our relationship with God, in our marriages, as well as in every other relationship. We know exactly what to do and say when the pressure is on. The only way we can experience intimacy is by acceptance. We must accept each other just like we are and choose to surrender self-protection and control. When we center our whole being on pleasing the Father, it radically affects our ethical and moral behavior. A vital aspect of our circle of friendship with God is waiting on Him. By waiting on Him we exchange our weakness for His strength. After a while, we come to a place where the poise of our soul is toward the Lord, and we can enjoy the Father's presence. Isaiah 40:31 says, "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
