Am I a Good Friend?

Am I a Good Friend? (Mark 2:1-12)

“When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, Jesus said to the sick man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven!’” (Mark 1:5)

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I’m still thinking about the paralyzed man, the one who isn’t paralyzed anymore because Jesus healed him. My head is spinning as I try to remember the details of that moment.

It caused quite a ruckus when the four friends of the paralyzed man cut the hole in the roof. It was a big hole, big enough that a person could go through it, obviously. Chunks of clay started falling into the room where Jesus was teaching, kicking up a cloud of dust. I’ll have to give it to the four men: they were certainly determined to get their friend to Jesus. Very determined.

And that’s what I can’t stop thinking about – the look of determination on the faces of those four men as they cut the hole and then as they lowered their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. And their love for their friend. They clearly loved this man, and they truly believed that Jesus could do something for him. I remember watching Jesus as all this was unfolding. He wasn’t looking at the paralyzed man; he was looking at the four men who lowered the paralyzed man through the roof. 

It was when Jesus saw how strongly those four men believed that he could do something for their friend, that Jesus then acted: “Son, your sins are forgiven… Get up, pick up your mat, and walk out of here.” It was the faith, the bold belief of the four friends, that spurred Jesus to action.

It makes me wonder, Am I a good friend to my friends? When someone I know is suffering, how strong is my desire to take that person to Jesus? When Jesus looks into my heart when I pray for someone, does he see bold belief?

I want to be a good friend. I want to be someone whose prayers for others are filled with love for them. I want to be someone who desires goodness, mercy, and healing to be poured out upon them. I want to be someone who earnestly brings them to the feet of Jesus because I am confident that Jesus has the power and the compassion to act for the good of the one for whom I am praying.

As I walk with Jesus, I want to be a good friend whose faith gets Jesus’ attention.

Lord Jesus, I want to be a good friend. I want to be a friend whose faith in you is strong and bold. I want to be the kind of friend who, when I bring someone to you in prayer, you see love and determination in my heart – love for the one for whom I am praying, and determination that you will act powerfully and compassionately in their life. For the person who is hounded by chronic ailments, for the woman whose pain includes the death of her child, for the one who carries the burden of caring for a loved one, for my own grown children living far away, for the one whose days on earth are drawing near to their end and who is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, for the spouse whose husband or wife of many years is dying before their eyes – Lord, I want to be a good friend for them. For their sake. And for your glory. Amen.