I was listening to one of the evangelists on television the other night and found myself being spiritually moved by the comment about the faith of friends. The parable where Jesus heals the paralytic struck me in a way that seared my consciousness at the time.“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5. The operative word here for me was “their.” I don’t know why, at this particular time, all of those sermons I’d heard about choosing your friends wisely became crystal clear. Can you imagine the strength and power behind a group of individuals who believe in you so strongly, care about you deeply, and love the Lord so much that He heals you because of them? If there is ever any place in that bible that should make you realize that people who love God and you can make a difference in your life, this is the place. For all those praying mothers out there, here’s proof that God through Christ is listening. I don’t have to remind a lot of us about the grief we put those who love us through. I won’t remind many of the only course of action we left open to those who love us. Putting us in the hands of the Lord was their only alternative because, as the old folks say, our heads were so hard that we only bruised ourselves while we made our hearts bleed. Help me, somebody. I’m testifying that I believe I’m here today because the Lord entertained the pleas of others on my behalf. I was too dumb, young, and stupid to do so for myself.
What’s the phrase? You better check yo-self before you wreck yo-self? You see, the paralytic’s friends might have given up on him, but they wouldn’t give up on God. Now these are the kind of folks I want in my life. I believe the message here is that while in the midst of your own personal storms, one unalterable fact is you’re better off if you’ve got some of God’s storm troopers with you. You need some folk who will break down a few walls, tear up a few roofs, and destroy a couple of yokes for you in the name of God. You see, these people will tell you what you already know in a heartbeat. If you try to go it alone, you might as well make a reservation in the devil’s Motel 6. You can start this journey by yourself, but you likely won’t be able to finish it by yourself. The family of believers is just that, a family. Take a look around in your own life and take inventory of your closest friends. Which one(s), if any, would you want pleading your case before the Almighty? Who in your current collection of friends is willing to make a personal appeal to God to save your butt from the insanity you’re currently in, just got out of, or, are about to go through even as you know better? More importantly, what kind of friend are you? If your closest friend took this same inventory, how would you stack up? Are you likely to help him or her get into heaven or go straight to hell?
As we used to say when I was growing up, riding shotgun was a favored position. If all is as it should be, then God is riding shotgun no matter where you are. He has to be because at least one person is so connected that they won’t forsake anybody in the group, even if it’s not you, to Him that He. I guess I’m just trying to point out that the belief of others in the truth of the Lord is so powerful that you can benefit from it, which is mind-boggling. I have friends who see this as usual, natural, the way. To me, Mark 2:5 was like a light that had me examine some of my relationships, only to find that adding one or two more who would find a way to lead me into the presence of the Lord would probably go a long way towards me achieving my ultimate goal.
May God bless you and your friends always.