Scripture: Mark 2: 3-5
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Observation:
We need to be there for our friends, carrying them to Jesus to meet their needs.
Application:
We all know of people who have gone through tough things in their life. When I read this passage today, it made me think of not just the paralytic man, but the four friends who were with him. This man, who was unable to walk, was literally carried by his friends to see Jesus. When they could not get into the house because there were so many other people there, his friends did not give up but made sure that this man would not leave without meeting Jesus. Imagine hauling a man on a stretcher bed all the way up to the top of the roof and then lowering him down before Jesus. These were rockstar friends that were going to stop at nothing to help their friend. They supported their friend, carried their friend, and brought their friend to the One who could heal their friend in every way. What a blessing these friends were to this man.
What kind of friend are you? I am a selfish friend. I am selfish with my time. In this story, I would have likely been the friend who heard about this story after it happened from others. I would have been the one who was too busy to make time to carry this friend to Jesus. If I would have carried him to the house, I probably would have been the one to turn back when it was so crowded.
When our friends struggle, we need to support them. We need to carry them in prayer and in our actions. We need to find a way to get them to Jesus-the healer and ruler of all things. I have friends struggling in their marriages, friends dealing with the pain of infertility, friends who don't believe that there is a God and they all need to be carried to Jesus. We can't do anything on our own, but God can work through us to help our friends with exactly what they need. We shouldn't let any thing stand in our way.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, Thank you for being the maker of all things. You know our needs and you supply all of them. Thank you for giving us friends to share in our lives. Help us to support each other in love and prayer and for giving us the opportunity to come to You so that we can lay our troubles at Your feet. Lord, we can get discouraged sometimes and think that our troubles are too big and that there is too much standing in our way to get to You and yet that is not true. Help us to know the truth of Your power. Amen.
2 comments:
I, too, often find this story quite convicting. I'm the friend who says, "I'll be praying for you," but it almost never goes beyond that. The PHYSICAL realities of caring for my friends have rarely been a priority, if ever. Which leads me to wonder if I've ever really BEEN a genuine friend.
I want to be a friend like these men were, caring for both the physical and spiritual needs of my friends. When they can't walk, I want to offer to carry them; when their faith is weak, I want to be able to encourage and strengthen them. To bring them to Jesus not just in my prayers, but that through my actions and with the love and mercy of God flowing through me, they would see the presence of Christ in my desire to serve them.
Wonderful post, Pam.
Ouch! Excellent thoughts here Pam, unfortunately also very convicting ;)
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