Guilty by Association

One of the things that we want to keep in mind about the God we serve is that God is actively looking for friends. God the Father wants friends in the earth. Believe it or not, God doesn't have a lot of friends. This is because a lot of people, including many Christians, do not qualify for friendship with God. Part of the reason why a lot of born-again, children of God are disqualified from Divine Friendship is because they are guilty by association. The association of many people, including Christians, keeps them from becoming friends with God. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10). So regardless of your anointing or your calling, if you're guilty by association, you are disqualified from friendship with God.

The scripture says in the Book of James that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4). Some of us are too "chummy" with the world to be the friend of God. The first epistle of John lays out what the friendship of the world looks like: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1John 2). If you are associating with these things, then yes, you may be saved; but you are not the friend of God. There are plenty of parents who have children with whom they're not friends. God the Father is no different with His children.

The other association that can hinder us from being friends with God is our family. Abraham, the only person in scripture who was specifically identified as the friend of God (James 2), was called by God to leave his family and kindred (Genesis 12). If he had refused to do this, he wouldn't have qualified to be the friend of God. As much as we love our family, a lot of times their mindset is diametrically opposed to what it is that God has called us to do. 

Because the calling that God has placed on our lives is primarily between us and God, a lot of times family members just don't understand. However, this doesn't keep them from expressing their opinion, and many instances, their ignorance. If you're going to be a friend of God, you're not going to have time to "negotiate" between what your family thinks and what God has commanded. Even if it doesn't require a legitimate physical or geographical shift, at some level there has to be a separation between us and our family if they don't possess the spiritual capacity and discernment to receive what it is that God is calling us to do.

The last area that is required for friendship with God is sacrifice. If you're not willing to deny yourself, if you're not willing to surrender, if you're not willing to sacrifice, you can't be a friend of God. That's why Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, "not My will, but Thy Will be done" (Luke 22). At some point, if you're going to be the friend of God, the Father's going to command you to do something that will go against the very fiber of your nature and being. However, if you're God's friend, you'll be obedient. Obedience is a prerequisite to Divine Friendship, regardless of the circumstances. God is calling all of us to Divine Friendship. Don't be disqualified because you're found to be guilty by association.