What kind of friend are you? Really, if you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, one being not good at all, and 10 being the absolute best, where do you fare? What if you rated yourself on helping your friends get to Jesus? That may be a tough one.
We see friendship throughout both the New and Old Testament. However, one of my favorite stories comes from Mark 2:1-5. It reads, “When He [Jesus] entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking [AKA teaching] the message to them. Then they [a group of people] came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men. Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:1-5 HCSB).
In this specific story, we see two groups of people: The four friends who carried the paralytic to the top of the roof, ripping the roof off, and lowering the man down just to get him to Jesus. And we see the group of people who were so interested in Jesus for themselves, they ended up blocking the way to Him, not leaving room for others to come forward too.
Friends, let’s make every effort NOT to block the way to Jesus. Let’s share in our struggles and practice authenticity for those in our lives. We know we don’t have to have it “all together” to get to Jesus, but instead that it’s by His grace that we are saved (see Ephesians 2:8). We have to help our friends and family get to Jesus. So instead of blocking the way, let’s get real, and let’s be the friends who pick up the mats, tear off the roofs, and help get our people to Jesus.
Have a great week, friends!
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