Friendship Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:3-5 Imagine having a friend who is paralyzed and hearing Jesus, a man who performs miracles, is in town. You and some other friends believe his message and have faith Jesus can heal your friend. You put him on a mat; you all smile and tell him, “Today is the day. You are going to walk again. We are going to take you to Jesus, who can heal you.” Can you imagine the look on your friend’s face? Is he excited or just in disbelief? Maybe he has never walked before. But he anticipates being able to walk today. You get him to the destination, and there is no way in; the crowds around the doors are like trying to buy Super Bowl tickets on game day. Your friend says, “Oh well, you tried.” Or he is just discouraged and says, “Thanks anyway” or “I knew it was too good to be true.” Who knows what the man or woman might say? But the friends are real friends, and they look at each other; then one smiles mischievously and says, “I have an idea. Let’s go up on the roof, dig through it, and lower him down to Jesus. He will have to see him.” Jesus saw him all right, but he also saw the love of the friends and the faith they had. Jesus said, “Pick up your mat and walk.” Dancing, the five of them walked off together. Probably hugging, skipping, and running with joy, tears in their eyes, thanks on their lips and in their hearts. Friendships run deep in the Bible. David and Jonathan had quite a friendship. Jonathan, the son of Saul, who was trying to kill David, served with his father but was true to his friendship with David. They made covenants together. Jonathan told David whatever he wanted he would do. David took care of Jonathan’s crippled son when Jonathan died. Jesus asked his friend John from the cross to care for his mother, Mary. Of course, John said yes. Jesus gave the command to love God and love one another. He said, “Love one another as yourself.” I have to ask myself what length I would go for a friend. Jesus is my friend. He gave up his life, he took on my sin, and he took my place. When it was time to pay for my sin, Jesus said, “I will pay. I am aware of the payment needed. Despite the torture, cruelty, taking on the sin of the world, and a slow horrible death, I will pay. Ken Jones is my friend. I will pay his price. Jesus doesn’t love my sin, but he loves me. There is no greater love than giving your life for another. Wow, what grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love he has for his friends. I ask myself how deep my friendships run. What am I willing to do? Jesus taught me he was willing to die for me. Friendship also means picking up the mat, carrying my friend, digging through a roof, sliding my friend down, having faith, going to any length, being available to care for someone’s mother, washing feet, and even giving my life for my friends. What an example. What a benchmark. I want my friends to know about Jesus. I talk to them and send them e-mails like this. I want them to know they don’t have to live in the dark, they don’t have to be paralyzed, they don’t have to ever be alone, they don’t have to do things on their own, learn that fear is their choice, see that death does not have to be a mystery or something to be feared. I love my friends. I want to get to know my friends better. I want to love more, forgive more, and show mercy more. I want to know how they are, what they are thinking, what I can do to help, how I can celebrate with them; share meals, ideas, and insights; and share their joys as well as sorrows. I want to be available. Do I call my friends enough, see them enough, and give of myself enough? So today, I will make this a priority to follow Jesus’ command to love one another as myself, reach out, and to pay attention to where I am needed and to not think of my needs first, but my friends’. Who are my friends? My neighbors are. Who are my neighbors? You know, Jesus told us, everyone. You are my neighbor. You are my friend. Reach out to a friend today. Make a new friend today. We all need them. Grow in Christian fellowship and help the fellowship grow. Bring glory to God in your friendships today.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 14:31:21 +0000
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