John knew Jesus loved him
He called himself the Disciple whom Jesus loved
His fellow disciples knew the disciple John had a closer relationship with Jesus than they did
They would ask John to ask Jesus things:
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom He spake.
He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto Him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it.
And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, theson of Simon. John 13:23-26
Jesus loves everyone, but He did have those He was closer to
God demonstrated a favorable response to those who sought Him in the Old Testament
A few friends God mentioned in the Bible
Noah and Abraham and Moses and Daniel
God was always friends with the prophets, although He didn’t mention all of them as friends
Elijah and Elisha
Isaiah
Jonah (that was a budding friendship)
Job (God grew their friendship through Job’s trials)
Nathan cried because he knew God’s heart
God shares His heart with His friends
Some of the Kings, God knew they sought after His heart and He appreciated it
The position of being God’s friend cannot be taken, it must be given
When Moses’ siblings thought they were just as close to God, God corrected them:
And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us?
And the Lord heard it.
(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which wereupon the face of the earth.)
And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam,
Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud,
and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
And He said, Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you,
I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches;
and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold:
wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and He departed. Numbers 12:2-9
The moral of this story is that it seems to be the choice of those who are close to God
and who have sought God by putting effort into their relationship with Him
Spending time with Him, learning His likes and dislikes, supporting Him,
just like with an earthly relationship, we can help our relationship with God to grow
James 4:8 says that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us
God would like to be close to all of His children
He would like us all to know His voice like we know the voices of those closest to us
Our efforts that we put forth toward God and learning about Him will be greatly rewarded
We want Him to know us when we meet Him face to face
Some will not
Some will hear Jesus say, I never knew you, depart from Me
But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity. Luke 13:27
The worst words anyone will ever hear
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon him while He is near: Isaiah 55:6