Friendship with Jesus

"Friendship with Jesus," is to help Christians influenced by Chinese culture to use the image of Jesus as Friend in their spiritual practices to foster a closer companionship with Jesus and with one another. It shows how, through friendship, one can draw near to Jesus. The image of Jesus as friend enriches and perfects Christians understanding of and relationship with Him and frees believers from fear, especially in the context of Chinese churches. In surveying the sayings of Confucius and LaoZi, one sees that friendship with Jesus poses a challenge to the Chinese understanding of God and us.The first part of the book presents the needs and challenges of Chinese churches and the theological/biblical basis for friendship with Jesus.It presents the thoughts of Confucius and LaoZi,and their influence in Chinese culture. The biblical image of Jesus as friend is examined and traced in church history.The nature of friendship and the doctrine of Incarnation are explored with attention given to friendship with Jesus through friendship with one another. Three spiritual disciplines of Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina and Christian Conferencing were identified to build this friendship.