be his friends. Fortunately, because of God’s grace, Jesus is still
the “friend of sinners.”^1
In the Bible, the friends of God were honest about their
feelings, often complaining, second-guessing, accusing, and
arguing with their Creator. God, however, didn’t seem to be
bothered by this frankness; in fact, he encouraged it.
God allowed Abraham to question and challenge him over the
destruction of the city of Sodom. Abraham pestered God over
what it would take to spare the city, negotiating God down from
fifty righteous people to only ten.
God also listened patiently to David’s many accusations of
unfairness, betrayal, and abandonment. God did not slay Jeremiah
when he claimed that God had tricked him. Job was allowed to
vent his bitterness during his ordeal, and in the end, God
defended Job for being honest, and he rebuked Job’s friends for
being inauthentic. God told them, “You haven’t been honest either
with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has.... My friend
Job will now pray for you and I will accept his prayer.”^2
In one startling example of frank friendship,^3 God honestly
expressed his total disgust with Israel’s disobedience. He told
Moses he would keep his promise to give the Israelites the
Promised Land, buthe wasn’t going one step farther with them in
the desert! God was fed up, and he
let Moses know exactly how he felt.
Moses, speaking as a “friend” of
God, responded with equal candor:
“‘Look, you tell me to lead this people
but you don’t let me know whom
you’re going to send with me.... If
I’m so special to you, let me in on
your plans.... Don’t forget, this is YOUR people, your
responsibility.... If your presence doesn’t take the lead here, call this
trip off right now! How else will I know that you’re with me in this,
with me and your people? Are you traveling with us or not?.. .’ God
PURPOSE #1: You Were Planned for God’s Pleasure 93
God doesn’t expect you to be
perfect, but he does insist on
complete honesty.