Click for Video about friendship.
They wouldn’t take no for an answer. They weren’t dissuaded by the crowds. They were on a mission and they were going to get it done. It was their commitment to each other that kept them going. In fact, their primary motivation was the commitment to their injured friend.
You see one of their friends was paralyzed – he had no control of his legs. He depended on them for a number of things, and was more grateful than he could communicate for their willingness to not only help him out, but do life with him.
If it weren’t for the support of his friends he would be in a really tough place. He appreciated them more than they could ever understand, but he also felt guilty for being “the needy one”, “the weak link” in the friendship chain.
His friends didn’t see it that way though. They simply recognized he had a physical disability which meant he couldn’t do everything they did unless they gave him a hand. And they were more than happy to give him a hand – they were friends after all. And friends help each other out.
One clarification though: friends help each other out only if they share their needs with each other. His need was obvious, but most of the time men don’t tend to share their needs with their friends. We tough it out and don’t tell anyone what we need, when if we shared our needs we would probably find that our friends would be more than happy to help out.
Wouldn’t you be willing to help out a friend who asked for your help? Of course you would.
Back to the story of the guys…
They were on a mission to get their friend the help he needed. They couldn’t get in the front entrance, so they improvised a different way to get in. They were now on the roof pulling tiles off, then prying off the supporting structure in order to create an opening to lower their friend down. They had put him on a stretcher, tied four ropes to each of the corners of the stretcher and were now very carefully lowering him down in front of Jesus.
We all know what happened next – Jesus healed him. He came in on a stretcher and he walked out carrying his stretcher. However, what got him there were his friends. Friends who were willing to carry his stretcher.
So, who are your stretcher bearers?
Who are the friends that will help you out when you need it?
Who are the friends that you share your needs with?
Whose stretcher do you carry?
If we want to benefit from good friends we need to become a good friend. I have learned that friendship grows when we give friendship to others. When we choose to be authentic, open and giving we gather friends.
You want to know how to get people to like you? Show genuine interest in them.
We all want to have friends, but we are not always willing to invest time in other people. It’s only as we choose to invest in others that we will find others investing in us. In addition, if we want help from others we need to be willing to share our needs with others without overwhelming them with need. If all we offer is our neediness, we will probably find ourselves friendless. Conversely, if we never share our need we will only have shallow relationships.
No matter what, friendship takes time and effort, and it begins with our realization that we need friends. Life is a team game – it’s not meant to be played alone. Sure we all have different social needs, some need more than socialization than others, but we all need friends. Sadly some of us only recognize our need for others when we are in significant difficulty – when it may be too late.
Be a friend to others and you will find yourself with friends. Be willing to share your need with others and you will have friendships with depth.
Who will carry your stretcher? Whose stretcher will you carry?
Luke 5: 18, 19
“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.”