“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23).
A friend is a person “with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of intimacy or family relations.” The declaration in this passage indicates Abraham has the closest relationship a human could have with God. And, the basis of Abraham’s friendship with God is based on the fact that he “believed God.”
To be called a friend of God is tantamount to being called a friend of Jesus—and He is the one whom God sent to give the greatest expression of closeness one could ever give another. He sacrificed His life for every person who has ever lived or who will ever live.
If we seriously want to go to Heaven, we will want to be a friend of Jesus Christ; and to have Jesus as our friend, we must “believe” Him. Evidence of our belief is really quite simple: we follow the example Jesus left us, and we follow the direction He gave us in His word. The reward for this kind of friendship is a home with Him in Heaven.