I must realize that friendship is a choice, and the act of choosing is a sword that cuts two ways. I cannot choose a friend without at the same time choosing an enemy. If I choose holiness, I reject sin, and vice versa. I understand now what James meant when he said, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
The Jews said to Pilate, “If you release this Man [Jesus], you are no friend Caesar” (John 19:12). I am known not only by my friends, but also by my enemies. Pilate and Herod were bitter enemies until they both rejected Jesus; the rejection of their common enemy, Jesus, forced them into each other’s arms of friendship (Luke 23:12).
I see now why God becomes so heated when His people get chummy with the world or idols or with the mammon of unrighteousness. To accept them is to reject Him. Friendship by its very nature denies a universal, all-inclusive embrace. Friendship is selective. It thrives on exclusive choices. So it is natural that God, who desires the warmth and love of my heart, should become “jealous” when He sees me consorting with those who hate Him.
Jesus Christ is constantly looking for friends. When He called Judas “friend” in the moment of his betrayal, He was revealing an innate yearning. Even for those who oppose Him, the door of friendship is always open, but always of course on the conditions He lays down. Judas was a friend in invitation only. I must go beyond; I must be a friend to Him in reality. The condition of being Christ’s friend is to “do what I command you” (John 15:14, Berkeley). The honor of being His friend is to talk to Him “face to face” in sublime intimacy (Exodus 33:11).
“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’?” (James 4:5).
Daily with the King 