Friend Indeed

Luke 5:¹⁹ “But they could not find a way to take him in because of so many people. They made a hole in the roof over where Jesus stood. Then they let the bed with the sick man on it down before Jesus.” (NLV, emphasis added).

God will bless you with friends like these, and God will make you a friend like this in the Name of Jesus. Sacrifice is the key to friendship. These men sacrificed, they risked so many things – their energy, reputation, and even their lives. They could have fallen off the roof. They were carrying someone who was obviously heavy, immobile, and could not help himself. They risked being arrested. This man’s friends sacrificed for him. God will bring people into your life who will sacrifice for you, and God will make you a friend who sacrifices for others. You need to take an inventory, a friend inventory. A simple inventory is the phone inventory.

Check, the person that you are always calling, does the person call you too? Or is it that every time you call, they say, “I was just about to call you. Our minds are working together. I was just literally about to call you.” However, it is every time you call that they are “always just about to call you”, and they never actually call you. I used to have a friend like that. When I checked, I discovered that for a whole year, I was the one who would remember this person and call. However, as soon as I call and the person picks up, the first thing the person says is, “I was just thinking about you. You see, the spirit is one. I was just thinking about you.”

I didn’t think anything of it. I just say, “Oh wow! You have to learn to obey the Holy Spirit more. I beat you to it this time.” The next time I call, it is the same thing. “l was just about to call you.” After a while, I said to myself, “If you don’t call this person, this person doesn’t call you.” There is no need. I am busy enough. I have things I am doing. If I take time out to text or call you, it is a sacrifice. If I am the only one texting and calling, after a while, I will stop. So, I stopped calling this person and for months, the person did not call. But if I call again, I am sure the person will say, “Oh, I was just about to call.” If I want comic relief, I probably will call. But I don’t have time for that right now. You need to realize that sacrifice is the key to friendship.

They made a hole in the roof; it must have been noisy and dirty with debris falling. Where would the debris fall? Straight down, right? Guess where they were making the hole? The Bible says, “…over where Jesus stood.” So, all the debris fell on Jesus, and He did not complain. But why didn’t the homeowner have an issue with it? Imagine how big the hole would have had to be. If you read this scripture in context, you will discover that that was Jesus’ house.

Prayer (hymn): What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit… Amen!