Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried
by four men. And when they could not
come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So
when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was
lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He
said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:3-5 )
These four men believed that if
they could bring their friend to Jesus, He could and would help him. The man could never get there himself. Someone had to bring him. But, even when they arrived in the vicinity,
with some effort expended, the obstacles appeared too large to overcome. A seemingly impenetrable wall of people
encircled Jesus. What were they to do?
They did not give up. They would not make excuses. Faith finds a way. What they did had never been done
before. There was no guarantee of
success in their plan. In discussion
among themselves, it may have seemed outlandish. But, as they looked at their paralyzed
friend’s sad condition, they knew that to do nothing was to assure
failure. So, they threw caution to the
wind—and the result was a transformation in that man’s life, then and for
eternity. Not only was he healed
physically, but spiritually!
If we would bring people to Jesus,
we can also be sure of obstacles to overcome. Such a task is seldom quick and
easy. It may require, “thinking outside
the box.” Certainly, this method had
never been used before! Others may need
to be enlisted to assist us. There is a
price to pay—but, what is the value of a soul?
Excuses never get the job done.
We need a faith that
perseveres. In the face of difficulty,
our faith is to be determined. It is at
the intersection of faith that the power of God meets the poverty of man—and
life change occurs.
So, we roll up out sleeves, set
aside our fear and questions, and press forward in faith. Our friends need Jesus! Let’s find a way to bring them!
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