As a fourth grader at Washington Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina, one of my friends met a guy named James, whom at the time could not stand him, but overtime, became one of his best friends. They played basketball together, they went to church together from time to time, they hung out at the mall together, and the list goes on and on. During the duration of their friendship, James endured some painful things with one of them being the passing of his older brother. Being the friend that my friend was, he told James that though he could not fill his brother's shoes, if there was anything he could do to be there for James, let him know. From there, their friendship became a brotherhood and they were there for one another at their graduations and James was there for my friend's wedding. The point I am getting at, my brothers and sisters, is that there are friends and then there are friends! If we cut the grass down short enough, we have all had "friends" who were more associates than anything and then we had friends - people who are genuinely concerned about you! Believe it or not, God emphasized this point through His Word. Let's take a look at what He says.
Our focus scripture for today is found in the epistle written to the church at Galatia. This book, let twelve others in the New Testament, were written by the Apostle Paul. Galatians is said to have been written between 48 and 55 A.D. Scholars stated that one of the main motivations behind Galatians was to let the people know that men are justified by faith in Jesus Christ without the works of the Law of Moses. Within this concluding chapter of Galatians, Paul provides discussion on helping one another and some final warnings to the people at Galatia. Within the discussion of helping each other is where we draw clarity on the thought there are friends and then there are friends!
Within the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, Paul stated the following: "You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand". What a powerful and yet real verse! If you were to look at this text in the King James version, it says, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." When you have real friends, instead of associates, they will be there to bear your burdens. When one bears your burdens, they do not literally carry those burdens, but they carry them spiritually. When I see that a brother or sister needs a job, I carry their burden in prayer and continuously ask God for His will to prevail and bless! When a brother or sister needs a promotion to make their financial needs at home, I carry that burden in prayer until God's will prevail! When someone says they are in need of a healing, we ought to carry their burden until God's will is done in their lives! When someone is hurting within their relationships, we ought to bear their burdens in prayer until God's will prevail! One thing I must emphasize in the midst of carrying one's burden, make sure you are capable/able to do so! Some of us can carry more because we have dealt with similar situations. Others of us can carry more because of our faith and relationship with God. Just know your limit in reference to what you can carry/bear.
As you show your friends how true of a friend you are or vice versa, then you are fulfilling the law of Christ. The law of Christ is simply this: "Love ye another as I have loved you". Do you realize that Christ is a happy Savior when He sees His children loving one another? Do you realize how happy He gets when He sees us carrying one another's burdens? Do you realize how Christ gets when we go visit the sick, feed the hungry, console the brokenhearted, and compel the sinners? When we are doing these things, we are displaying the love He had for us. At one time or another, we were all poor, we were all hungry, we have been brokenhearted, and we did not know Him in the free pardon of our sins! What did He do? He went on Calvary's cross to save you and me and because of that, He is not just a friend, but He is a FRIEND, a friend who loves us and a friend who cares for us! Doesn't that make you feel good knowing that Jesus cares?
In closing, James and my friend's friendship/brotherhood grew over time because each of them allowed the other to see the realness of their bond towards one another. They were not just associates, but they were genuine friends, one to the other! Just like them, Paul allows us to understand who our friends really are because they can carry our burdens when the time is warranted/needed. Upon completion of reading this message, ask yourself: who are your friends and who are your FRIENDS?
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