There’s a story in the book of Mark in which Jesus is teaching people and the people can’t seem to get enough of him.  On this one particular day, the news travels throughout the village that Jesus is in town and ready to speak, so people come in throngs to listen in a nearby house.  The entire house filled up with people to the point where there was no place to stand, not even outside the door.

The Bible then talks about a group of friends.  One of the group is actually paralyzed and has to be carried by the other four.  So this paralyzed guy is lying on a mat, and his friends are carrying him up to the house, but when they get to the house… it’s full.  The guys are all upset because they were hoping their friend could be healed by Jesus.  Not even just hoping, they were believing that if they could just get their friend to Jesus, he could take care of the rest.  But they soon realize that it isn’t going to happen.  So they set down their friend and said, “Maybe someone else will help him.”  They left him where he was and then squeezed in the back door and listened to Jesus.  The End.

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Ok, so not the end, but that does make for an interesting conclusion.  These guys didn’t just set their friend down and go on.  They believed Jesus could really heal their friend.  They had love for their friend and faith in Jesus, and because of that, they had to act.

So what really happened?  When the group got near the house they saw that there wasn’t any room.   If they wanted to, they could have found a way to get out of it and just leave their friend lying on his mat in the road.  There are always excuses to be made.  But instead of quitting or making excuses, these guys decided to get creative.  They picked up their friend and carried him onto the roof!  They dug a hole through the top of the roof and then lowered their friend down to Jesus.  These guys were determined that nothing would stop him from seeing Jesus.  The faith of this man and his friends gave way to a miracle!  Not only did the paralyzed man walk, but his sins were forgiven as well.  Read the words of Mark 2:5, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.”  Note the phrase “when Jesus saw their faith.”  Not just the faith of the paralyzed man, but the faith of the whole group.

This week you have the opportunity to show someone the love of Jesus.  I wish I could say that I’ve taken every opportunity in my life to do just that… but the truth is that I haven’t.  Sometimes I’m selfish and sometimes I let fear make decisions for me.  I want to change.  I want to be the type of friend, neighbor, sister, daughter, wife who will do whatever it takes to bring people to the One who has changed my life.

I can’t encourage you enough to do your part to give the world a glimpse of the Great Healer!  Get creative, get moving, open a roof if necessary… just get them to Jesus.

Following and learning,
Ginger