juppu' - Friends!

je Abraham ghaHta' ja' the jup vo' joH'a'.
and Abraham was called the friend of God. James 2:23b

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In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent numbers among his friends one unemployed actor with the unlikely name of Ford Prefect. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Ford is NOT a human, but actually hails from the vicinity of Betelgeuse, a star more than 400 light years away.

Such surprising friendships might make one ponder - how many alien friends do you have? I can number one - well, sort of. That is I have a small stone gargoyle figurine my daughter gave me years ago. I dubbed him "jupwI'," Klingon for 'my friend,' and he has sat faithfully by my computer ever since. He sits patiently as I clatter away on the keys and his friendship, while mostly imaginary, is a great reminder of a real friendship I do have - that of my daughter.

jup - friend - is the Klingon word that I've used in the KLV to represent the Hebrew word ahab and the Greek philos. Both words come from roots meaning "to love" - in fact the Greek word used here in James's epistle is familiar from the word philosopher (a lover of wisdom) and the city Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love. And even the root of the English word friend comes from Germanic roots (fre-on) for love.

Now, as casually as we may treat friendships - we do well to remember that a true friendship is far deeper and more powerful than mere acquaintainship.

je Abraham ghaHta' ja' the jup vo' joH'a'.
and Abraham was called the friend of God. James 2:23b

James is quoting the prophet Isaiah here, and he underlines the close relationship God wants to have with all of us. The theologian J.I. Packer notes:

God wants us as friends. ... Abraham and Moses are called friends of God (2 Chron 20:7, Exodus 33:11)... and Jesus tells his disciples: "No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends." (John 15:15).

For some reason, we don't assure one another of this as often as we should.

I recently heard one Bible teacher point out that when Jesus told his followers "No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends," there really was a change, for in NONE of the letters of Paul, Peter, James or John - only in the Gospels and Acts - do we find the word "disciples." The master/student relationship ends - God really yearns for us to become juppu' friends.

Some might note that all over the place in those letters, the apostles do call themselves "doulos," that is, bond-servants or slaves. There IS a difference, I think - for in a deep friendship we DO serve, we do care about our friend and look for ways to serve them - not because of obligation but because of the bond, because of the love we share.

Across this planet and perhaps out to the stars, we find many types of friendship - some close, some casual - yet all of them at their best can echo something of the relationship that God wants to have with us - as it says in Exodus that God "spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. "

In prayer, in worship, in reading scriptures, in fellowship with the company of believers, we have that same opportunity - what keeps us from it? Let us pray to daily seek his face and remember that God truly wants to be our friend.

je Abraham ghaHta' ja' the jup vo' joH'a'.
and Abraham was called the friend of God. James 2:23b