The Company You Keep Mattersعينة

Your Inner Circle Did you know there are different levels of friendships? It’s not a stark contrast between acquaintance and friend. Maybe you’ve noticed it before. You have the friend you go shopping with, the friend who you go to for dating or marriage advice, the friend who knows you the best and who will remind you of what’s true. There can be a lot of overlap, but the point is, not everyone will be everything to you. Not everyone will be in your inner circle. In Mark 5, we read the story about Jesus going to Jairus’ house because his daughter has been sick. They receive word that she has died, but Jesus tells Jairus to “just believe” and continued on with him to his house. In verse 37, it’s noted that only Peter, James, and John were allowed to follow Jesus. When they arrive, verse 40 notes that everyone else was out while only Jesus, the disciples who were with Him, and the girl’s parents were allowed in. The people who were not allowed in the room in Mark 5 were the people who responded to Jesus with laughter. They didn’t believe or agree with Him, and they weren’t allowed in. He didn’t say anything to them; He simply put them out. We can do the same with who we’re friends with. We don’t have to argue with them or disown them; we can simply not allow them into certain “rooms” in our lives. It makes me wonder if the little girl would still have risen from the dead if Jesus had spoken to her in the company of mockers. If Jesus was as intentional with the company He kept, we should be too. Think of your life like a house. Which rooms are your friends allowed in? Everyone might be invited to the kitchen for community, but who can come in your office and speak into your career? Who can sit in your children’s play room and speak into their lives? Who can stand with you in the room where you’re believing for dead things to come back to life?