God drew Abram outside one night and said to him, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them … So shall your offspring be’ (Genesis 15:5).^[1]

Our culture often tells us to stargaze as well. We look up to those who have reached stardom. When Cristiano Ronaldo shares a single photo to his millions of Instagram followers, it uses 36 MW of electricity, which is enough to power ten UK households for a year (climate change!).^[2]

The hope of becoming a star drives people to chase more sex, more money and more power. Without the traditional limits of the office and fixed hours, those with drive can answer emails 24/7. Large companies must counter burnout with wellbeing services. Virtual worlds enable us to become the heroes, landowners and lovers of our dreams, all whilst we go about our day-to-day lives.

Bigger than we’ve dreamt

Into this world we as Christians are called. We have a very different vision of stars, the one first received by Abram. It is a dream not of aspiration, but of relationship: a large family, so large in fact that it will outnumber the stars in the sky. This family will have the same friendship with God as Abram had. He talked with God. He trusted God. God even revealed his plans to him.

What a vision, what a dream! Abram and Sarai were promised a child even though they were too old. Yet they believed God and trusted that their descendants would outnumber the stars of the universe. They took on the names Abraham and Sarah, which meant the father and mother of many nations, without so much as a bump to show for it (Genesis 17:5,16).

Received by friendship

Rather than reaching for the stars by sheer work, effort and luck, ours is a vision received by friendship. Sarah may have laughed at first, yet we are told to look to her and Abraham as an example of this relationship is worked out through faith.

As we look at those around us and the stars they hold dear, do we believe God can really grow his family to outnumber the stars in space?

The Bible describes Abraham as God’s friend three times (2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). As Navigators we are called to help people makes friends with God, and we do this by continuing to receive God’s friendship ourselves.

How?

1. Be there:

The Bible repeatedly records Abraham talking with God. Most of these conversations, particularly at the beginning, are one-sided as Abraham listens to what God is saying. His time with God matters.

In our own friendships with people it is estimated to take 50 hours to grow from an acquaintance to a casual friend, 90 hours to become a friend, and 200 hours to become a close friend^[3] … that’s a lot of time spent sharing, eating and playing together. Loneliness is a blight of our age, possibly because we don’t have time to spend with each other.

Let’s set a little time aside each day to spend with God. This is key to Navigators’ work, helping people prioritise this time to grow our friendship with God.

2. Share interests:

Friendship often begins with a common interest and proximity. C.S. Lewis describes friendship love as two people looking at something they enjoy and saying ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’^[4]

God’s interests are somewhat larger than we can imagine. All things! This makes it easy to share an interest with God. As Mutua Mahiaini, the worldwide Navigator leader puts it, ‘I like Scripture memory’, but there are plenty of other interests we can share with God.

An inspiring woman of God took us to see some puffins some years ago. We were so fortunate to see these amazing creatures, and it was worth getting up at 4am! She mentioned recently going to a talk about birds and God. We can share our interests with God, and give others a glimpse into this time we spend with him.

3. Be real:

When does a mate become a friend? There is something about being real, opening up what we really think and feel and inviting someone into our lives that deepens friendship.

God said to himself, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?’ (Genesis 18:17). These words give a glimpse into the friendship between God and Abraham. Abraham is a prophet who God speaks to, but here we see God revealing to Abraham his heart, his thinking about what he is going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and God invites Abraham to speak into it. The New Testament confirms that this depth of friendship is for us as well: ‘I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you’ (John 15:15).

In the same way we can be real with God and grow our friendship with him. For some of us this is easy. Sharing what is going on is just a prayer away. Sometimes we need other people to help us, or a Psalm to express how we are really feeling. I know when I was low, after a series of difficult events I found the words of Psalm 42 helped me express myself. We can draw alongside others, helping them open up to God.

Reconnecting

This year it is likely we have reconnected with friends and family, discovering the truth of Proverbs 17:17: ‘A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.’ Reconnecting with God by spending time with him, sharing our interests with him and being honest with him, means that he can equip up to reconnect others with himself as well. In this way, a vision bigger than even our greatest dreams is being fulfilled.

Instead of chasing the limelight, we hold on to God and his promises, and God uses us to make this amazing dream a reality: ‘you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life’ (Philippians 2:15-16).

[1] THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

[2] Channel 4 Dispatches on Twitter

[3] How to make friends? Study reveals time it takes | The University of Kansas (ku.edu)

[4] C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (Collins, 2012)