What are Friends For?!

How many of us have friends? How many of us have friends that need help? How many of us have friends that are struggling with something? I think we all do.  Now the question becomes, how many of us point them to Jesus?  How many of us bring them to Christ?  I’ve been asking this question of myself lately because that seems to be a big theme happening in the gospel of Mark.  Everytime I read another passage or move to another chapter Jesus is always healing someone, but it’s the friend who brought that person to him.  I remember a passage in Luke that Jesus said it was the faith of friends that Jesus worked the miracle through.  

I think two things are important for understanding what’s going on. The first is prayer and intercession for our friends who are in need.  We need to be constantly praying, going to the Father with all of the struggles, pains, anxieties, and troubles our friends have. We need to be actively bringing these things before Yahweh because we know he is the only one who can heal.  And he heals completely!  And as we take these things before him, we need to be encouraging our friends to do the same.  We should exhort them to lift the woes and the worries of their lives to the one who raises the dead and provides for all needs.  That’s what the people in the scriptures did because they truly believed their only salvation was through Jesus. That makes me wonder.  When we don’t do these things is it because we don’t believe Jesus can do it? Or maybe it really isn’t as urgent or important as we claim.  

This brings me to the second thing and that is evangelism.  Man what is more important or urgent than the souls of our dear friends in eternity.  This is where any true and authentic healing begins.  There is no restoration without salvation and salvation only comes through the person of Jesus.  So I got to ask the question, are we evangelizing our friends? Are we sharing the message of where hope is found to the ones we care about most? 

Let’s take an example from the dear friends of those in need of healing who we find in the scriptures and let us lead our friends to the one where wholeness can be found.  It is in the loving arms of the savior.