“ Greater love has no man than this , to lay down one ’ s life for his friend . You are my friends if you do whatever I command you . No longer do I call you servants , for a servant does not know what his master is doing ; but I have called you friend , for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you .” John 15:13 – 15
Abraham is called God ’ s friend three times , underscoring the depth of their friendship ( Isaiah 41:8 ; 2 Chronicles 20:7 ; James 2:23 ). The term for “ friend ” in the Hebrew verses is “ אהבי-ohavi : my love .”
Pretty strong , eh ? If anyone ever demonstrated Yeshua ’ s statement about laying down life for a friend , it was Abraham . In coming to the very edge of sacrificing his son , Isaac , the patriarch said , in effect , “ God , I am willing to surrender to you what is most dear to me on this earth , my son . Our friendship is so strong , so central , that I am yielding my life in totality .”
Responding to God ’ s instruction to offer his son as a burnt offering , Abraham twice said to God “ Hineni ” ( Gen 18:1,11 ) and once to his son on the way to the stone altar ( Genesis 18:7 ). This “ Here I am ” is the most basic declaration of availability , of surrender , of friendship . Don ’ t we say , when affirming true friendship , “ You can count on me . I ’ m here for you ”?
We are now , at this crossroads of history , called to surrender all to the One we can trust with our entire being . Our King warns us not to let our love for Him grow cold when end-time trials intensify ( Matthew 24:12 ). To say “ Hineni ” is the ultimate response of our heart to the Lover of our soul . And that response is what releases resurrection power — as it did in Abraham ’ s case .
Friendship is Knowing Face to Face
The intimate quality of friendship with another all-time great man of God is recorded in Exodus .
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