Have you ever called Customer Service for help? Perhaps you have used an on-line chat or even clicked on the “Help” tab at the top right of your computer screen. Did you get the help you were looking for?
Yesterday morning I was reading in Ecclesiastes again.
“Two people are better than one because together they have a good reward for their hard work. 10 If one falls, the other can help his friend get up. But how tragic it is for the one who is all alone when he falls. There is no one to help him get up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 GW
Now that’s what I call a help line!
The image above is a poster that hangs in our oldest daughter’s bathroom. I asked her to send me a picture of it after I read these verses so I could use it in this morning’s blog.
When Kim and Koy were little they were given a real tool kit for Christmas. It had a small hammer, hand saw, level, tape measure and a screw driver. They used that saw and hammer to build this frame for their poster.
We told them that as they worked and played together they could accomplish more than if they were alone. Having a friend to help lightens the burden and adds joy to the journey.
And so it does in all our lives.
Asking for help can be hard to do because it means we need to admit that we are weak in someway and that makes us vulnerable. However, a true friend will never point out our inability to accomplish the task, instead they are glad to be part of the process.
Jesus was talking with his disciples a short time before He was crucified. He called them friends. He knew what was ahead and I believe He was stating how much he needed them and also He knew how much they would need each other.
“You are my friends if you obey my commandments. 15 I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. 16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you. I have appointed you to go, to produce fruit that will last, and to ask the Father in my name to give you whatever you ask for. 17 Love each other. This is what I’m commanding you to do.” John 15:14-17 GW
Shortly after Jesus said this He led his disciples, his friends, to the garden to pray. He asked them to pray with Him. Jesus was stressed over what was ahead. He had never sinned and now He was going to take on the sins of the whole world. He would be the sacrifice. He became sin so that we could be forgiven and have a new life, new relationship, with God the Father.
Jesus needs our help now to show the world what God is like. Our commandment from Him is to love each other. This is the greatest commandment.
When we do this for His honor and glory, Jesus tells us that we can ask the Father for whatever we need and He will be there for us.
WOW! We won’t get help like that from any other friend. He is there to help in each and every circumstance. Jesus is the friend that never leaves us or abandons us.
“Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.” Hebrews 13:5 GW
Since we have Jesus promise to never leave us we don’t need to put trust in our wealth or make money our god. We can trust Him to provide all that we need and more. We are His friends and He provides.
“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.
“ My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:13 & 19 ERV
It’s great to have friends who walk with us through life; faithful, loyal, honest friends. I thank God for each and every one. They are examples of Jesus to me.
And then there’s that one friend, the One others can’t see but He is always there. He is the One who walks with me each step of the way and carries me when I fall.
What a friend we have in Jesus!