Are you REALLY a Friend of God?

"I am a friend of God, I am a friend of Gooood, I am a friend of God; He calls me friend!"
That's a great song...sometimes.  But there are times when I don't like it at all!  Does that surprise you?  The reason is because it causes me to check myself.  Do we really think about what that means?  Can we really call ourselves friends of God?  The verse that automatically comes to my mind that distinguishes God between a master and a friend is John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. I'm sure some people as they read this post are thinking, Of course I'm a friend of God!  Me and Jesus are tight!  But before you say that, think carefully.  It's a big deal to be called a friend of God.  And just because you're 'saved' or a 'Christian' doesn't automatically mean that you're God's friend.  In fact, other than that verse I just mentioned, there are only two people in the Bible who are called 'Friends of God'.
Of course, there are a bunch of typical examples of the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing someone, that come to my mind as I write this.  I might know a lot ABOUT the president, but if I walked into a room, and walked up to Barack Obama, he wouldn't know who I was.  And if I started acting like I was his buddy, it would be inappropriate and disrespectful.  A person may know a lot about their favorite celebrity, and many times I'll hear them talk about them as if that person were really their friend.  (Side note: A lot of people are that way with God, acting like they're real close to Him, when they're not.  I know individuals who throw around the phrase, 'the Lord told me' very loosely.  I used to be kind of free with the phrase, 'The Lord said', too, using it even if I just had a thought while I was praying.  But then I read Jeremiah 23, and it scared me.  I don't want to say, 'God sent me', if He really didn't.  It's serious to say that God said something.  Now, I'm very careful using that phrase.  Even if I think God impressed something on me, I'll try to stay away from using those words, because if I'm going to tell someone God spoke to me, they need to be able to be absolutely sure that He did.  Anyways, back to my celebrity example.)  There are people who know the minutest details about that celebrity's life, from what he eats, to what she wears, to what time he brushes his teeth...and if something bad happened in that celeb's life, I know people who would mourn for that person like they would for a close friend.  But if they happened to meet that celebrity on the street...the celeb wouldn't know who they were.  That person doesn't really KNOW him.  We don't know that celebrity's inner thoughts and feelings.
What is a real friend?  I've thought a lot about this before.  Call me cynical, but I think true friends are rare...even (or maybe especially) in this facebook age, where we call all our acquaintances friends.  But I couldn't share certain things with probably 90 percent of my facebook friend's list. (Yes, yes, except for YOU whoever's reading this of my friends.)  A friend should be someone you can confide in, and trust, and share your burdens with.  Now translate that into your relationship with God.  K, now people are thinking, "Well, sure!  I can confide in, and trust, and share my burdens with God!"  But that's not what I mean.  Flip it around.  Can God confide in and trust and share HIS burdens with YOU?  That's the question.
The interesting thing about the president is that even though I don't know him, I still have a relationship to him.  The relationship of a president and a citizen.  I'm still under the president's jurisdiction, whether I know him and can influence his decisions or not.  What he decides to do while in office still affects me.  I'm still under his protection as commander-in-chief.  But I don't KNOW him.  I don't know what goes on in his mind on a daily basis.  I'm not his friend.
Compare that with the examples in the Bible.  Remember, earlier I said there are only two? (Which, of course, isn't to say there aren't others that apply, but these are the only two specifically mentioned.)  Abraham.  The thing that comes to my mind is an account in Genesis when God is standing with two angels and asks, "Should I show Abraham what I'm about to do to this city?"  God revealed His plans to Abraham, and Abraham was even able to influence the Almighty's decisions!  That's being a friend with God.  In a very respectful way, of course.  I was just reading a book called "The Fear of the Lord" by John Bevere, and he emphasizes that in order to be a friend of God, you have to have a healthy fear of God.  This is shown by Jesus' statement, "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I have commanded you" and an account in Genesis 22.  God told Abraham to offer up his only son.  And only because Abraham loved God more than the dream God had given him, Abraham did it.  Abraham had a fear of God.
The second example is Moses.  Psalm 103:7 says, He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.  The Bible says God talked to Moses face to face like a friend talks to a friend!  That's crazy!  A lot of times, we fall into the category of the children of Israel.  We see God's acts.  We see what He's doing.  We see the parting of the Red Sea, etc.  We see the what.  But Moses knew God's ways.  He knew the why behind the what.  That's why you can see the intimate conversations Moses has with God.  He was legitimately God's friend.  Not knowing God's heart can result in the kind of golden calf thing the Israelites took part in.  But the fear of the Lord endures forever.  And it's when we have a fear for God that we honor Him best.
So now you're wondering about me.  Do I consider myself 'a friend of God'?  I'd like to give you a quick 'yes.'  But, honestly, I don't know that God considers ME a friend.  There have been times in the past when I've felt God's burdens for people, (on a small scale, I'm sure, but I have felt His burdens and His pain in some instances) but not for a while.  I want my relationship with God to grow to the extent that He can trust me enough to share what He's thinking about with me...to the extent that I'm not so wrapped up in myself that I can't hear what God wants to say.  How about you?
Once, when I wasn't feeling God's presence, I was at the altar and I began crying out and accusing God.  "You said You'd never leave me or forsake me!  You said You'd love me forever! You're supposed to be like a loving Father, to the extent that even if I turn away from You, You'll never turn from me!  You said You'd never leave me no matter what!" Etcetera, etcetera.  Then all of a sudden, this gentle thought dropped in my head.  "You once said that about Me."  And I stopped.  It was true.  There were times in moments of rapture at God's presence, when I had said similar things to God.  Even if He forsook me, I should keep loving Him.  And this verse came to me, also in John.  Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.  The disciples at this point were focused on themselves, because THEY were going to suffer when Jesus left.  But Jesus says, "If you loved me, you would rejoice..."  True love is wanting the other person's good more than your own.  Placing them above yourself.  The same is true with God.  To be a true friend of God...our focus has to be on Him and what His plans are.