Wala silang madaanan dahil sa dami ng tao, kaya’t umakyat sila sa bubungan, binakbak ito at ibinaba sa harapan ni Jesus ang paralitikong nasa higaan.

Lucas 5:19

One of Pia’s friends had a motorcycle accident and needed immediate medical attention. It happened in the middle of the pandemic and her friend’s family had limited means and resources to do everything for him. Kaya naman nag-decide ang buong barkada nila to step up. Despite the fact that their own health might be compromised, may nag-volunteer na mga kaibigan to drive him to the hospital, which was suggested by another friend. Among themselves, they raised money for additional support to pay his hospital bills. May isa pa ulit na friend who offered to order food for them knowing na hindi nila maasikaso ang concerns kagaya nito. The good news is Pia’s friend eventually recovered.

There is an event in the Bible when God honored the faith of friends. This happened while Jesus was teaching in Capernaum. The house was packed at wala nang lugar na mapu-pwestuhan kahit sa labas ng pinto. May mga lalaking dumating bitbit ang kanilang paralyzed friend pero hindi na sila makasingit papunta kay Jesus. So they went up the roof and made a hole in it so they could lower their friend to where Jesus was. They did everything para lang makita ni Jesus ang kaibigan nila (Luke 5:17–20). True enough, God saw their faith, and He did not only heal the paralyzed man, He forgave his sins! Everyone who saw it were amazed, and they praised God (Luke 5:21–26).

We can be the best kind of friend even if we don’t always give gifts or we don’t know our friends’ secrets. We can do it by helping our friends na mapalapit kay Jesus, the one who can truly heal and forgive our sins. We can be true friends even if we can’t help them financially. We can pray for them when they are sick and in trouble. Jesus, the closest friend we can ever have, honors friendships.