In my last blog, I talked about the importance of having your inner core group of deep Level 5 friendships. Part of that friendship is picking each other up. As Ecclesiastes puts it, “Two are better than one…If either falls down, one can help the other up.”

Want some funny, and cute, evidence? The video below shows my two-year-old grandson, Mason, getting off his scooter bike to go help his sister get back up on her bike…multiple times, since she started falling on purpose. (Who doesn’t love the feeling of being supported by your sibling?)

Mason goes back and picks her up three times (in the video at least). It immediately reminded me of how Jesus picked up Peter three times while he was cooking up some fish for him and other disciples.

How Jesus Picked Up Peter
See, Peter had “fallen” three times. Three times, he denied he knew Jesus around a fire on the night of His arrest. How does Jesus pick him up? By affirming their close relationship and reminding him of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, and Peter’s identity and role as Jesus’ leader and shepherd of His sheep.

Remember, Peter was “Simon the fisherman” before he met Jesus. It was Jesus’ miracle of providing a bounty of fish that inspired Peter’s faith, and His call to be a “fisher of men” that made him follow Jesus.

After His crucifixion, Jesus returned to the disciples and performed the same miracle. As they ate together around a new fire, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of John…Do you love me more than these?” Jesus was giving Peter the clear choice to either go back to his old familiar life as a fisherman or follow Jesus and live from his true identity as Jesus’ crucial ambassador.

After Peter said “yes,” Jesus told him to feed his lambs, reinstating Peter as a shepherd of Jesus’ followers. But He didn’t leave it at that. He asked Peter two more times, tripling Peter’s reaffirmation of his faith and Jesus’ commissioning Peter’s restored leadership role among the disciples to shepherd and teach Jesus’ followers .

How Jesus Picks Us Up
Good news! Jesus picks us up in the same way He picked up Peter. We, too, are called to receive our identity from God as His son and our unique role in His mission.

And the other lesson from Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter? He will pick us up as many times as we fall. And since none of us are perfect, we need to receive this support from Him continually, as much as possible, every day.

How We Pick Up Others—Sacrificially
We were talking about “picking each other up” during a recent MEN HUDDLE Huddle Captains Convene (a quarterly Zoom call available to anyone on my email list) and we came to John 15:13: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

After a friend blows it or loses in a big way, we can help remind him of his real identity and encourage him to plug into his ultimate credibility and power source—Jesus. But it takes sacrifice, exactly what Jesus did for us by suffering the cross for us. It means going back for a buddy when it would be easier and personally advantageous to move on ahead. It means investing time and energy in them, rather than yourself, or  sharing your resources with him (stuff you worked for but know that God gave you).

This way of Jesus is counter-cultural to society’s confused masculinity of ‘might makes right’ and ‘always finish first,’ no matter the impact on relationships. Even a well-meaning leader can get caught up thinking, “I can do it all on my own.”

You can’t. You need core friends with the hallmarks of a great team—trust, unity, dedication. These come from humility, love and honest accountability..

Be sure to see your core friends with a long-term view. Your friendship is a partnership. You’re invested in each other’s success, and you each invest to accelerate the mutual change and growth. (If you want to read more about this, read my last blog about close friendships.)

Real men go back to pick up those who fall down—and they won’t give up and quit on a friend. 

I hope you realize that you and your close friends are part of a mutual discipleship. Together, you’re on a journey, from “As Is—To Be,” transforming into who God wants you to be. Just as Jesus turned Simon into His friend, Peter ‘the rock’ and turned a fisherman into a fisher of men.

If you’d like to join our next Huddle Captains Convene Zoom call, sign up here today.