Don’t Be A Good Friend — Be An Extraordinary Friend
By Sam Day
Director of Missions
Tuscaloosa Baptist Association
A good friend helps someone in need — even when it is inconvenient. But my challenge for you is to take friendship to a whole new level. Go beyond being a good friend — be an extraordinary friend.
A good friend helps a friend in need. An extraordinary friend goes another step further by also taking them to Jesus. Isn’t that the lesson we get from the story where the four men brought their paralytic friend to Jesus in Mark 12:1–12?
Keep in mind that your friends have a “felt need” and a “real need.” The felt need of the man on the mat was that he was paralyzed. He wanted to walk. And that made him want to meet this Jesus who was changing lives. What is the “felt need” that your friends are experiencing that motivates them to meet our Jesus? Some are feeling lonely, helpless, depressed, hopeless, frazzled or even seeking a greater purpose in life. Share with them how Jesus has met those same felt needs in your life so they will want to meet Him too.
The felt need of the paralytic man is what motivated him to meet Jesus. Next Jesus addressed his real need. The first thing Jesus told the man was, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Think about it — if Jesus had only healed and not forgiven the paralyzed man, how would the story end? The man would have walked out of that room excited, been able to walk for the rest of his life and at the end walked straight into hell. You too can be a good friend and help people take care of their felt needs by paying their light bill, comforting them in times of loss, praying for them to feel better, etc. That’s good, but if the only thing you do is help ease their earthly suffering and never take them to Jesus to address their real need, then in the end they spend eternity suffering without God. Don’t be a good friend who just helps people in need; be an extraordinary friend who also takes them to Jesus.
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Tips for staying balanced and disciplined with your work responsibilities
- Be a multitasker. Be able to switch gears quickly and focus on the specific task at hand while handling multiple projects at one time.
- Keep a to-do list and keep it up to date. Add to it as soon as a new project comes your way and delete items as soon as you are finished.
- Respond to emails and requests as quickly as possible. If it can be handled quickly, then go ahead and take care of it. If it can’t, then put it on your to-do list. Don’t mentally try to remember it.
- Put all your projects on a calendar. Alerts on your phone or computer are also good ways to have reminders.
- Stick to deadlines. If a deadline for a project isn’t given to you, ask for one or create one for yourself and stick to it.
- Pace yourself. If you have a large project in the future that you know will be time consuming, create small deadlines for yourself and chip away at the project over time so that you are not overwhelmed at the last minute.
Lauren C. Grim
Designer
The Alabama Baptist
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Being in one generation is no reason not to be contextual to the next generation. Contextual is a missionary word that simply means learn the culture and speak the language in a way that can be understood and accepted. A sure way not to do this is to pound your fist and tell people how it used to be in the “good ol’ days.” It doesn’t mean you fake “cool” either.
The value of your life experience is incredible. But if wisdom isn’t expressed in a way that the next generation can understand it, then the words remain only wisdom to the teacher.
Lori McDaniel
Global mission catalyst
International Mission Board
Editor’s Note — Lori McDaniel’s comments are an excerpt from a first-person article she wrote on www.bpnews.net Oct. 2.
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How to live a life that counts
- Be saved
- Be surrendered
- Be settled
- Be Scripture-saturated
- Be satisfied
Pastor Roger Graham
Nazareth Baptist Church, Rainsville
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“We didn’t practice until we got it right. We practiced until we couldn’t get it wrong.”
Quarterback Blake Sims
University of Alabama Crimson Tide
Following the Oct. 18 Texas A&M shutout (59–0)
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