In his book, Friendship with God (Crossway, 2023), Mike McKinley closes his introduction with the statement, “God…deeply longs for fellowship with you.” It’s this concept, difficult for many Christians to come to grips with, that the author addresses. But admittedly his thoughts are not original. They are those of a famous 17th century Puritan.
If you’re one of those people who find yourself often repeating the phrase, “So many books, so little time,” then, like me, you’ll occasionally avoid books that seem a bit overwhelming. I know that I’m opening myself up to criticism, but when I find myself rereading pages or paragraphs of text multiple times, attempting to grasp what the author is saying, I’m tempted to set the book aside, never to return. And though I’ve long enjoyed reading about the Puritans, their lifestyle and their teachings, I’ve found their writings challenging on many levels. For one, the English language from that time period is significantly different from modern English. And the Puritan writers could be what we might call, long winded. A sentence of forty words could be just as well said in fifteen.
It’s for this reason that I appreciate McKinley’s Friendship with God. In it, the author introduces us to a Puritan classic, John Owen’s (1660-1683) Communion with God. Like me, McKinley has great appreciation for Owen and his counterparts, but mining the riches of their writings can be daunting, especially when there truly are “so many books” still waiting to be read.
The book masterfully considers the paradox between our friendship with God and our natural, inborn animosity toward Him. The author points us to Romans 5:10, Ephesians 2:11, Romans 1:30, and Ephesians 2:3 as scriptural proof that in our natural state we are haters and enemies of God, even “children of wrath.”
In contrast John 15:15 declares to us that God “has called you friends.” And McKinley points us to other scripture, both Old and New Testament, that further increases the tension of this paradox. (Ps. 25:4, John 15:13-14, 1 Cor. 1:9, 1 John 1:3, Rom. 8:23, Eph. 1:5, 1 Cor. 12:26, Eph. 5:29-30, Isa. 54:5 and Rev. 19:6-9). In these we are referred to as His friends, His family, His body, and His bride.
So how can this be? And why would God want friendship with me? We know friendships to be two-way streets, so is there a roll that God expects me to play in this friendship? How do we balance the tension of God’s majesty, and His description as a “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29) with His role as our friend?
It’s these and many other questions that are addressed in this easy to read book. Gleaning from the wisdom and writings of John Owen, McKinley helps us find balance and moderation for our Christian walk. Ours is not a check-your-brain-at-the-door faith, where emotion and sentimentality govern our worship. Nor is it cold and calculated, consisting of a check list of Dos and Don’ts, as we serve a God who’s distant from our feelings and emotions; a God who simply wants us to know about Him but not intimately know him.
Friendship with God is short (only 160 pages) but is insightful, and a great tool to help us understand this beautiful aspect of our relationship with the Father. And it’s a book I will doubtless return to time and time again to regain that necessary balance.
Like the content you see on Reading For The Glory? Please subscribe by providing your email at the bottom of this page. We invite you to consider supporting the ongoing ministry of RFTG. To donate click here.
To learn more about the good news of Jesus Christ, please click here.
Discover more from Reading For The Glory
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
