Acts of Friendship
It inspires me to do good things in return
Reference: v.31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: A good friend of mine is always looking out for me. He notices the small things I do and takes every opportunity to give me encouragement.
Because of all the great things he does for me, it inspires me to do good things in return. I have cooked meals for him in the past, and I often try to look for ways to make his work load lighter.
These acts of friendship seem small compared to everything that he does for me, but I do them to show that I care.
Application: There’s much talk in Christian circles as to whether we need to do things as part of our faith. On the one hand James 2:17 says that faith without deeds is dead, whilst on the other hand, Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that there is nothing we can do that could justify our wrong doing. It’s only by God’s grace that we are saved, not anything we can do.
And yet, here I’ve found an explanation for why belief and action actually go hand in hand.
Whenever my mate does something nice for me and encourages me in my work, all I want to do is find a way to make him feel just as good.
In Mark 1 we read how Jesus comes along and miraculously heals Simon’s mum and her response is to do something in return. When someone does something for us, as an act of gratitude, we want to give back to them.
There is no one who could do more for us than Jesus. He not only heals us, but He has washed us clean from any wrong in our lives.
There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any more than He already does, but as an act of gratitude we dedicate our lives to loving Him in return.
Prayer: Lord, no words can ever express how thankful I am for all that You’ve done. As an act of gratitude I put aside my own selfish desires and dedicate my life to You again. Amen.
What can you do to show your gratitude to God?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.