2. Proclamation and Christian Friendship
The "gospel of salvation" many of us have received is one that excludes the friendship of Christ. We speak of Christ's work on the cross as necessary for our redemption from sin, but we forget that the whole purpose of God's redeeming us from sin is for the restoration of a divine friendship with him. His primary concern is not so much sin, but rather, friendship. Sin grieves him only because it severs friendship.

For this reason, Jesus says "Greater love has no one than the man who would lay down his life for his friends." It is strange how we read about the laying down of his life and miss out almost entirely on the friendship that Jesus so desires to restore.

Many of us spend most of our Christian lives being conscious of sin and wrongdoings, and yet conveniently overlook the friendship that constitutes the heart of Christ's Spirit. We must progress beyond a relationship of sin-forgiving towards a relationship of friendship with God, for that is his ultimate desire.

This fixation on sin at the expense of friendship is telling in the way the "gospel" is presented. We preach sin. We do not preach friendship. The thing is, without the friendship of Christ, the sinner derives no meaning from the reality of his own sin! The gospel of salvation is more a gospel of friendship than it is a gospel of forgiveness, for it is in the friendship of Christ that forgiveness is to be found.

Is it any wonder that the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ has become the impersonal exercise it has become today? It is a gospel devoid of friendship. It is a gospel that demands repentance from hearers but does not extend God's dream of friendship to them. It is a gospel that, upon repentance, assimilates the responder into a religious institution rather than initiating the responder into a divinely appointed friendship with Christ.

For that reason, we can preach the gospel to almost anybody and not have to worry about embodying the grace of friendship towards them. Even if we do embody friendship, it is for the sole purpose of invoking repentance. Repentance is the end goal. Just proclaim and get them to repent. Then move on to proclaim more so that others may repent too.

Meanwhile, God keeps on dreaming of a community of friends that embody the true nature of his being, and we just keep on missing the point.