Refer a Friend

I can get a $50 statement credit with Discover when I refer a friend who becomes a new cardmember. I can earn $100 with Medi-Share for every new household that joins as a result of my referral. You may have taken advantage of similar deals yourself. And have you ever seen a space on new patient forms, asking if someone referred you to your doctor? Companies and individuals understand the power of a personal recommendation. Within the realm of advertisement and customer acquisition, there is no method quite like word-of-mouth. Consider how the trust factor is used in these Refer-a-Friend programs. A person will accept information much more readily from a source with which they are already familiar.

In the New Testament, we read about a follower of John the Baptist named Andrew. When John declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God (John 1:35-36), Andrew heard him. Not only did Andrew become a follower of Jesus (1:37), but he also went on to make a referral. Andrew went to find his brother Simon, excited to share what he had found with him. He declared to his brother, “We have found the Christ” (1:40-41). And with five powerful words, the gospel account records, “he brought him to Jesus” (1:42). That’s how the man who would become the Apostle Peter first came to Christ. And it all began with something like a Refer-a-Friend program.

Song #546 (in our songbooks at least) is called “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus” and it contains some similar thoughts. The fourth and final verse of that songs reads, “To all who need a Savior, My friend I recommend, Because He bro’t salvation, Is why I am His friend.” It can be easy to lose the great message of this verse in the somewhat awkward phrasing.

The call "to all who need a Savior" is really a message for everyone, since there is none righteous and all fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:10, 23). Next, the person singing the song proclaims that they "recommend" their friend, Jesus, for the job of Savior. Calling Jesus our friend implies obedience to His doctrine (John 15:14). Then, we sing out our glowing five-star review. Salvation has been brought to mankind through the act of Jesus giving himself to die on the cross (Rom 5:9-10; Eph 1:7; 1 John 2:2). May we be blessed by submitting to His will and obeying the teaching of God’s grace (Col 3:17; Titus 2:11-12).

If $50 or $100 can be gained by referring a friend to some company, what could be gained by referring a friend to our Savior and His teaching? And maybe the better question to be asked, who knows and trusts you? Who values your opinion based on your good reputation? Will you make the effort to engage them in a study and to bring them to Jesus?