Today’s sermon at church just got my mind to churning!
Our text was from Mark 2, a text that I have heard since I was a little girl. You know of the four friends who were so desperate to get their friend close to Jesus that they literally climbed the roof of the house He was ministering in, uncovered the roof, and held the ropes to slowly lower him into the presence of Jesus.
Get a picture here. For me, the flannel graphs used to teach me as a little girl instantly pop up (am I dating myself here?). But, when I think of them, I am somehow missing the desperation that these guys had for their friend to just get close to Jesus!
Ok…let’s push aside the flannel graphs for a moment. Let’s get personal…
Think of a friend…
How desperate am I to help them get to Jesus?
Do I see their need and their only answer–what do I do with that?
How far will I go to help them find their answer?
Am I pushing past every obstacle to help them get to Jesus?
Would I go to the trouble of climbing on the roof, pulling their body to the roof, uncovering the roof, and hoisting them into His presence?
How far would I go?
Am I desperate for them?
OR…
Am I trying to meet their need myself?
Am I too afraid that they will reject me if I am honest with the answers to their problems?
Am I too inconvenienced by their heavy load?
Am I too busy taking care of myself to really care?
Am I minding my own business and just “letting” God help them?
A man’s LIFE was in the balance that day. He needed healing. His only answer was in Jesus–all of the doctors and ideas of others had failed him for years. He had laid there in his place for years with no change. Even now, as the Master was SO CLOSE, there was no room left for him to get close to Him… Well, until his friends got desperate!
Glory! Praise God! These friends did not take “No” for an answer. No mention of caring about the way that things would look. They did not let the circumstances and hindrances deter them–even good ones like a ROOF! They knew that they could not make him better. They knew that no one, not even the doctors, could make him better. They knew that their only answer was to get him close to Jesus!
What faith! Desperate faith! They were desperate for a friend. They were desperate for their friend to get close to Jesus.
So…today, where are we? Do we have a desperate faith? How deep is our faith? Well, let’s get even more personal…how desperate is our faith for our friend? How deep is our faith for their healing, their freedom? How far would it go for those we love? Just where we sit right now? Maybe to the church? Maybe even to the altar? What about all the way to Jesus? All the way to healing? All the way to freedom? That is really being desperate for your friend!
I love verse 13…
“Immediately he rose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw ANYTHING like this!”
WOW!
What a day that must have been!
Someone who just could not get there on his own. Even with his friends getting him to the house, “there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.” Yet, these friends overcame the obstacles to get their friend to the Lord so Jesus could do what no one else could do for this man.
What kind of friend? Ever saw ANYTHING like this? Beloved, THAT is desperate! Desperate for a friend!
Yes, it really makes you think. We are so scared to speak out sometimes for fear of rejection but we have to get over that fear and try not to let anything hold us back from helping those in need of Jesus.