I had never before read anything written by John Perkins and
only heard him mentioned tangentially in a Switchfoot song, “The Sound” (“John
Perkins said it right, Love is the final fight”). He Calls Me Friend is a retrospective of John
Perkins’ life, stories relating to aspects of friendship, and quotes from songs
and books. John Perkins follows the lives of Abraham, Moses, and David and uses
their examples to show how being a friend of God gives us insight to being
friends with others.
The 2nd part of the book concentrates on Jesus
and what it means for men (and women) to have and be friends, to invite people
into our lives to be friends, to have friends who fill the place of brothers
and sisters, and to be friends to the end.
Jesus shows us what it means to be friends with prostitutes, thieves,
and the outsider, to be friends with those who are not like us. John Perkins
calls us to task. Instead of seeing a
group of people and keeping away from them, we are to see individuals created
in the image of God and befriend them.
We need to make space to get to know those who are not like us.
The 3rd section of the book involves friendship with the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the
personal presence of God within us so that we can know God. “. . . [T]he Holy
Spirit uses circumstances in our lives to cause us to cry out to God and to
seek His will and His purposes. He makes us desperate for God’s will in our
lives.” He uses our senses and affects us in a way that cannot be forgotten. He
reconciles disparate people and gives us boldness.
Indeed, the fruit of the Spirit is one fruit in different
aspects. All of these aspects are part
of our friendship with the Holy Spirit and are part of what we need to be friends
with others: Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
The final part of the book is Friendship with Others. Such friendship may be based on mutual need. It can cross cultural and ethnic lines as
well as economic strata. But friendship
can also be mentoring. A mentor friend
can draw us into deeper friendship, nurture us, and speak when they see us
heading in a wrong direction. They can
teach us and encourage and love us. And
we can be teachers, encouragers, and lovers, also.
We are challenged to make friends with others, to pursue
them, to focus on being a friend rather than having friends. Forgive and don’t give up. John Perkins says that any friend can be a
better friend if we don’t give up.
Friendship means being with people, spending time just talking or
attending events. Friendship means
participating in activities together.
Being a friend bears fruit.
This book is an encouraging word to anyone who wants friends
or wants to take friendship deeper. It’s
short and easy to read. In other words,
this is a book for everyone.
