The Bible is full of people who have learned from God how to be friends that understand, connect with, admire, challenge, and love each other.
Jesus loved the rich young ruler enough to offer him a way out of rule-following by asking him to make a decision to be close to him.
Loving God with all your soul is important; Jesus says it is part of the first and greatest commandment.
We all long for unconditional acceptance and closeness. It all starts with learning to develop intimacy with God.
By digging down deep, we start the process toward having a faith in God that is not easily shaken. However, depth takes work. It is not a personality trait or a natural talent, but rather a skill that must be worked at and developed over time.
Even when we make mistakes and hurt God, he still sticks with us because he loves us. Nothing we do can drive him away.