Friend of God?

In John 14, Jesus is interacting with His disciples about the way in which they should walk - it's an important consideration for everyone, especially in a world that embraces so many ways to God.
Jesus spoke with clarity:
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."

Jesus pinpoints how it is that a human being can have a relationship with God - it's not through a departed spiritual leader or some sort of icon or idol, but through the living Savior, who rose from the dead so that we might have life.  There are not multiple ways to experience that walk with God; rather, it is only through faith in Jesus that we might come to know Him and that we might be saved, born again by His power; dying with Him and raised up with Him.

+++++

We are called into a relationship with our Heavenly Father through our Savior, Jesus, His Son.  And, God wants to interact with us; He has established means of two-way communication with Himself -
Jesus said in John 16:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

You really do have a sense of trepidation when you see the entertainment industry deal with spiritual themes; and I would certainly not expect television shows that deal with spiritual themes to include a depiction of Biblical Christianity.  But, I think it can be encouraging when spirituality is at least depicted and explored.

There are at least two new television series this fall that deal with spiritual themes.  The title of one of those is quite out front, God Friended Me.  The premise:  the main character, Miles, receives a vague friend request from, yes, God, or an entity using that name.  As the Plugged In review by Paul Asay puts it:

Still, he and Cara Bloom, the journalist who's helping Miles try to uncover the identity of this mysterious Facebook friend, have to admit that divine or not, something strange is at work.

Through "God's" account, Miles and Cara are connecting with deeply needy people: the poor, the grieving, the angry. Miles begins to serve as his divine Facebook buddy's hands and feet—helping families patch up their relationships, giving a guiding word or two to someone at a moral crossroads. Whoever "God" turns out to be, He (or he) has a real knack for knowing who could use some timely aid.

But, Miles doesn't believe in God.  He is an atheist.  According to the review...

Now, walking in what he believes to be an uncaring universe devoid of cosmic meaning, he's found a measure of peace.

"There is no God, and that's OK," Miles tells his podcast listeners. And at that moment, he means it.

But while Miles may not believe in God, God believes in him. Moreover, God—or, should we say, "God"—wants a relationship with him.

The actor who plays Miles, Brandon Micheal Hall, grew up in church.  His mother was a minister.  The role of playing an atheist, according to Plugged In, was "uncomfortable."

But, Hall believes that the role was a product of "divine intervention," according to an article on the Relevant Magazine website:

It’s sort of divine intervention that this part came to me when it did. I left my house when I was 16 to pursue acting, and all my ideas about religion and spirituality were tested because I was reading a lot more and being opened to a lot more conversations and ideas about the world. I moved to New York and LA, but I never lost faith. I knew God had my back.

And, apparently, Hall is working out his own faith journey.  He states:

Grandma can pray you through some hard times and bring you through some stuff, but I have to build my own relationship. I have to learn who God is for myself, and until I’m able to do that, I can’t really progress forward. I can’t be stagnant at 25 years old. I have to be progressing toward something, and God Friended Me is allowing me to be inside a character whose world is the complete opposite of where I am, and we get to meet in the middle and talk about that.

Hall says he is growing in his craft by playing an atheist.  He says it was "hard"...

...I stopped praying for one month, and it felt like the entire world was about to come down. But I needed to know what it was like to walk in that fear, because that’s what Miles is walking in because of the loss he experienced. I have to meet Miles where he is so I can understand him and be as authentic as possible. That’s my cool little job they have me doing here. I love it.

It seems like "conversation" and even exploring new ideas is a goal for this show.  Hall tells Relevant:

We want a smart conversation. We’re not trying to change people’s lives or bring people to the culture. If it does, great. If someone comes closer to their own understanding of what’s true, great. But at the end of the day we want to get people talking. We want to get atheists and Muslims and Christians and Jews and Gentiles to sit at the table and talk about what life really is.

Paul Asay, writing for Plugged In, states:

The show seems to just to allow, but to invite questions—perhaps channeling Hall's own view on how to deal with spiritual uncertainties in real life. "The more you push your ideas on someone else, the more that person pushes away," he said.

Asay does caution about elements that may not be regarded as suitable for families, but says that it is a "a mostly family-friendly and well-meaning show—one designed to inspire and encourage."

I haven't seen the show and certainly cannot recommend it.  But, there are some lessons from the concept and the real-life actor.  First of all, I think Hall raises a point that we should all take to heart and pass on: Work out your faith and make it your own.  He says Grandma's prayers can help, but we have to trust God for ourselves.  Neither we nor our children or grandchildren can live off someone else's faith - everyone has to make the decision for himself or herself to follow Christ.  And, as Kay Arthur says often, we have to study God's Word for ourselves.

We can also consider how God communicates with us.  There are reliable ways that He does - He has given us His Word, and His Holy Spirit will bring to light verses, concepts, and principles inside the Word, to guide us in our decision-making and building wisdom in our hearts.  And, He will also prompt us by His Spirit, through that still, small voice.  He will also speak to us through people around us.

Plus, we can recognize spiritual sensitivity in others.  Hall says that those involved in this show want to see people talking about matters of faith.  Certainly, Christians can provide the truth in conversation with people of other faith perspectives or religion.  TV or movie religion can often be more universal in their approach; we can bring specificity in encouraging others to examine the truth claims of Christ.