Get You Some Uncommon Friends

Loved Like No Other

Part 1 – Get You Some Uncommon Friends

I found this perfect story about friends in the Bible.  Yes, I’d been looking for what the Bible had to say about friends for a long time and then I saw this story that had a group of friends hidden within it.  

Guys, this might be one of my favorite topics to speak on, because I realize the importance of having the right kind of friends.  You see society wants you to be okay with having normal, average, ordinary friends.  But I’m here to tell you that’s not enough.  Having ordinary friends may be normal. You may have settled with that being okay, but normal is not enough.

20161009-nlc-blog-get-you-some-uncommon-friendsI’m going to take you through this Bible story…
“Soon the house where he [Jesus] was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door.  While he [Jesus] was preaching God’s word to them, four men [friends] arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.” 

When you can’t carry yourself?
Friends work together.  They do things that make a difference and they go all in.  Here you have 4 guys who’ve decided to carry a paralyzed man on a mat.  These friends decided they’d make a new friend by doing what “uncommon” friends do.  We’ll carry you because you can’t carry yourself.  We’ll do for you what your family didn’t.  We’ll do for you what the church wouldn’t do.  We’ll be your friend!
Do you have the kind of friends who will carry you when you can’t carry yourself?

“They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd…”

Normal friends give excuses.
In life you’ll have setbacks and barriers.  This group of guys ran into an obstacle and could have said to each other, there’s nothing more we can do.  They could have said we’ve brought you as far as we can go.  They could have said we’ve taken you further than your family, your “normal” friends and even your church.  They could have said we’ve done our act of kindness for the day.  They could have said we’re tired and can’t go any further.  But as you can guess this is not the end of the story.
Do your friends bail-out on you when the going gets rough?

 

“…so they [the 4 friends] dug a hole through the roof above his [Jesus’] head. Then they lowered the man [their friend] on his mat, right down in front of Jesus…”

Your load is their load.
After being denied access, these friends said we’ll do what’s uncommon.  Sorry Jesus, we’re going to destroy your home because we’re friends.  Uncommon friends don’t stop for nothing.  We have a new friend and because we know how to be extraordinary, when the main entrance didn’t work, we’ll make a new entrance.  We’re not going to leave here until You, the Great Physician, have seen our new friend.
Uncommon friends are those who make your load their load.

“…Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers…” ‭

While the Bible doesn’t literally say these guys were all friends, let’s look at it from another angle.  What if they weren’t friends and did all of this as strangers?  What would such a group of uncommon individuals do for their friends?

What kind of friends do you have?  Do they stop at obstacles when you need them most?  Do they turn their back on you when all normal answers and responses have been exhausted?  Get you some uncommon friends.  Get you the kind that will scale the walls for you even if they have to carry you over.  You can have friends who will carry you when you can’t carry yourself, if you’ll lose the friends who won’t.

Are you ready for some new friends?  Tell use what kinds of friends you want or tell us about the friends you have that are uncommon.  At any rate leave a comment.

Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply