Once upon a time there were four friends. Three could run all over the place without a care in the world. They had never known a day when they had to think about how to get from place to place. Not so for the fourth friend; he had palsy and was unable to walk. I imagine he was frustrated by his physical limitations. He probably wondered what it would be like to stand, walk, run, jump, go from place to place without having to rely on other people to take him. Maybe he was even jealous of his ambulatory friends every now and then.
One day they heard that Jesus was going to be around and there were rampant rumors that He was able to heal people. The friends were excited! What if they took their sick friend over to where Jesus was? What if he could heal him? That would be so cool because then they could all run about the country side together. The friends quickly decided to carry their sick friend to the Healer and see what happened. So, they picked up the bed he was laying on and proceeded to go to the house where Jesus was teaching. They were going to take their friend to be healed! Pretty cool friends this guy had right?
As they got closer to the place where Jesus was, their steps began to slow and eventually they stopped. There were people everywhere! The crowd in the house had spilled out into the street. As far as they could see there was wall to wall people and the hope of getting their friend to Jesus seemed impossible.
To make matters worse, those standing outside probably said it was futile for them to try and continue their journey. "You're never going to get close enough to see Jesus. You might as well go back the way you came. You aren't going to get healed today, that's for sure. There's too many people here." The disappointment and discouragement on the four friends faces must have been evident.
But you know what? These friends were on a mission! They had heard of the power that Jesus had to heal the sick and they weren't going to let a measly old multitude of people stand in the way. So, the friends called a pow-wow at the side of the road and tried to determine the best course of action. "How will we get close enough to Jesus for Him to heal our friend? That was the question on everyone's mind. While they were discussing their options, one of them gazed up at the roof of the house where Jesus was and suddenly, EUREKA! <---I'm pretty sure eureka is Aramaic.
We're going to the rooftop!
They carefully picked their way through the crowd and up the the steps to the roof where they proceeded to tear it off. The people who were standing inside the house must have wondered about the dust and debris that began to fall upon them, to say nothing of the noise! Jesus knew though. He knew the faith that drove these four men to overcome all the obstacles that stood between them and getting their friend close enough to Him.
Because when you truly believe in something, then suddenly nothing stands in your way; not your dissenters, finances, your past, your health, the economy, the weather, excuses. When you believe in something you are sold out to the cause. Your excitement is infectious and you are willing to do whatever it takes to reach your goal, including tearing the roof off of someone's house to find the Saviour. That's what faith does. It keeps going when the odds say it's ludicrous to continue. And these four friends? They believed in the power of Jesus to heal, no matter what it cost them to find it.
When there was a sufficient hole in the roof, the three friends lowered the fourth man to the floor of the house and he came to rest at the feet of Jesus. You know what he said? "Your sins are forgiven. Take up your bed." So, he did. He stood on faith alone. It was faith that had carried him to that point and it was faith that drove him to stand on legs that had never carried his weight.
I can only imagine the absolute gratefulness and thanksgiving that he must have given to God as he walked out of that house a healed man; both spiritually and physically.
(lights please)
A couple of weeks ago, the kids attended Backyard Bible Club; hereinafter referred to as BYBC.
Personally, I don't think we use the word "hereinafter" enough in everyday speech. Maybe attorneys do, but I'm not an attorney. Thus, you have witnessed my personal campaign to bring "hereinafter" back into vogue.
But, surprise! I digress...(I know you were waiting for my digression)
BYBC is basically Bible school only someone hosts it in their backyard instead of at church. My sister's church has been doing this for quite some time now and my kids look forward to going every year. This year one of my nieces (hi, Melody) was in charge of the songs and aerobic workout hour. I mean songs and motions. You know you can't have Bible school without doing motions to the songs. I mean really, who wants to sing about the Wise Man and the Foolish Man building their respective houses without doing the motions? And don't even try to sing "Father Abraham" while sitting down. I believe it's against Mosaic Law. You could do a quick check in Leviticus to find out for sure though.
For the record, if I had to do what Melody had the kids doing, I would have needed to be in traction for at least a week after BYBC. Also for the record, it was abundantly obvious that a) Melody has copious talent in this area and b) it was abundantly obvious that the kids attending BYBC thoroughly enjoyed the songs and movement Melody made up to go with them!
One of the songs the kids sang was "Tear the Roof Off" which you now know was based upon the healing of the man with palsy. I really liked the song when the kids sang it on the last day of BYBC, but it wasn't until I was listening to the CD of all the music they used that week, when I was really impacted by the words. In the face of people who discouraged them from trying to see Jesus, these guys made sure their friend encountered a living God, one with the power to heal, not just physically, but spiritually too. The healing that man experienced when Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" is even more powerful than the healing he received in his physical body. In doing so, Jesus gave him a story. Before he was just another man with palsy, destined to rely on everyone else for sustenance but now, through his divine healing, he was able to point others to Christ.
How about you? Do you have the kind of faith that drives you to "tear the roof off"?
Mark 2:1-12 And when he came into Capernaum again after some days, the news went about that he was in the house.
2 And a great number had come together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door: and he gave them teaching.
3 And four men came to him with one on a bed who had no power of moving.
4 And when they were unable to get near him because of all the people, they got the roof uncovered there he was: and when it was broken up, they let down the bed on which the man was.
5 And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to him, Son, you have forgiveness for your sins.
6 But there were certain of the scribes seated there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why does this man say such things? he has no respect for God: from whom does forgiveness come but from God only?
8 And Jesus, having knowledge in his spirit of their thoughts, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?
9 Which is the simpler, to say to a man who is ill, You have forgiveness for your sins, or, Get up, take up your bed, and go?
10 But so that you may see that the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins on earth, he said to the man,
11 I say to you, Get up, take up your bed, and go to your house.
12 And he got up, and straight away took up the bed and went out before them all, so that they were all full of wonder, and gave glory to God, saying, We have never seen anything like this.
(For those of you who have read this post about my sister's and I sledding off the roof of our house, as far as I know none of the four of these people mentioned in Mark were related to us. After all, they were doing something important and serious and we were just fooling around....story of our lives!)
