March 6, 2015 (Friday)
I gave yesterday’s blog the title of “Thursday,” which seems quite unimaginative, but when one reads the blog he/she can see why I named it with only the word, “Thursday.”
When I sat down to write this blog, I decided, on the basis of naming yesterday’s blog “Thursday,” simply to name it, “Friday.” The first thing that came to my mind when I had that thought was the novel, “Robinson Crusoe,” and his companion, who went by the name of “Friday.”
Robinson Crusoe found himself stranded on an island with cannibals. He rescued a local man from the cannibals, but, because they spoke different languages, that lack of communication kept them from sharing their names. Crusoe then named his new companion, and because this all happened on a Friday, named him, “Friday.” The plot proceeds to explore the concepts of civilization and human relationships. But you know that–who has not read “Robinson Crusoe?”
Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel was popular and required reading for many generations, and a movie, “My Man Friday,” based on the novel, was made in 1975. The movie’s plot and character development is somewhat different from the original novel. It takes twists and turns that make it new and different; nevertheless the basic plot of the original is mirrored in shadowy ways. A new movie now being made will also spring from the old novel, but will be different.
The book is responsible for adding to our vocabulary. “Man Friday” is a term often used to describe the “right hand man” of strong characters. The female version is “Girl Friday.” A person bearing that title is loyal and faithful, ready always to do whatever is necessary to help.
I wonder, can I consider myself God’s “Man Friday?” Am I loyal? Faithful? Ready to help? Willing to do whatever God tells me to do? Am I a “friend of God?” Abraham was described that way: “And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: ‘Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.’ He was even called the friend of God” (James 2:23 NLB). In 1922 Johnson Oatman wrote a hymn with this chorus: “I’ll be a friend to Jesus, My life for Him I’ll spend; I’ll be a friend to Jesus, Until my years shall end.”
I’ll be His man Friday. Guess what? You too can be His man Friday or His girl Friday. “…whoever wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the willing slave of all–like the Son of Man; He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give up his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28 NEB) .