Leadership Thought: How Do You Know Who Your Real Friends Are?

Dear Friends,

How lucky one is to have friends. Over the years of coaching, teaching and ministry I have been blessed to have accumulated many wonderful friends. Some of those friends go all the way back to my high school days in Watertown, N.Y. They were coaches and classmates, and every summer I am fortunate enough to spend time with them as we fish and fellowship together on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Friendship is a wonderful thing. I think of how the paralytic must have felt about his friends who dropped him through the roof, so he could meet Jesus. Resourceful, determined, and willing to defy convention, those friends would not let anything stand in their way of introducing their friend to Jesus. The crowd was so great they couldn’t enter through the doorway, so they did the only thing they knew how to do; they cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down so he could see and meet Him.

Those are the kind of friends I want to have. Those who are unwilling to let any obstacle deter them from helping a friend in need.

It is interesting to note that the paralytic, who was healed, was not healed because of his own faith. He was healed and forgiven because of the faith of his friends. Scripture reads, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘son, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:5).

We all need those kinds of friends in our lives, the kind who are willing to stand with you when the whole world has turned its back.

When Harry Truman was thrust into the presidency at the death of President Roosevelt, Representative Sam Rayburn gave him some fatherly advice. “Here on out, you're going to have lots of people around you. They'll try to put a wall around you and cut you off from any ideas but theirs. They will tell you what a great man you are, Harry. But you and I both know you ain't.”

Later, when Sam Rayburn discovered that he was quite ill, he announced to the House of Representatives he was going home for medical tests. Some wondered why he didn’t stay in Washington where there were excellent medical facilities. He supplied the answer when he told congressman Jim Wright, “Bonham, Texas (where Rayburn grew up) is a place where people know when you're sick, and where they care for you when you die.” James Garrett, God's Gift, C. S. S. Publishing company, 1991.

Jesus placed tremendous emphasis on friendship. Not only did he minister to them, but at times he found himself being ministered to. That's what friendship is all about. Its mutual in nature.

As you go forth this day, let me encourage you to take a moment to thank God for some of the friends you possess, and then take a moment to call, write or email them and let them know how much you appreciate them. You'll be glad you did, and I can assure that they will be even gladder.

And how do you know which friend(s) to contact? Just choose the ones who “warm you with their presence, trust you with their secrets, and remember you in their prayers.” (Source of quote unknown).

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom