"Creation Was God's Plan for Friendship"
You are invited to reflect on the following passage by David G. Benner:
Creation is an outpouring of love...[that] reveals the abundance of [God's] love. Creation declares that humans are born of love and for love, created in the image of a God who is love. Love is our source and love is to be our fulfillment.
Made in God's image, humans are invested with a nonnegotiable dignity....Even more astounding, God chooses us to be [God's] friends. That imputed status was never annulled, despite our sinful rebellion and declaration of independence.
Creation was God's plan for friendship. We were not brought into existence simply so that we could worship God. Nor were we created simply for service. Human beings exist because of God's desire for companionship. We are the fruit of God's love reaching out toward creatures who share enough similarity that relationship is possible.*
Do you believe God desires your friendship? Are you open to having a friendship with God? What do you believe you can do to grow in friendship with God?
* David G. Benner, Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), pp. 22-23.