A few days later, when
Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They
gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even
outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came,
bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could
not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof
above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying
on. (Mark
2:1-4)
During
Sunday’s sermon, Andrew Palau asked us a question: “Who are your ‘four’?”
It’s
a great question. Some of us know, by name, men and women who were instrumental
in bringing us into contact with the presence and power of Christ. Others of us
may have forgotten names, but we remember a face, a moment, a God-ordained and
God-arranged encounter that changed our lives forever.
In
the Mark 2 narrative, the four men who carried their friend to Jesus displayed
certain characteristics:
v They were unified in objective. Their purpose was to
carry their friend into the presence of Jesus. This endeavor required the
agreement and cooperation of everyone involved.
v They were unfazed by obstinacy. Instead of being angry at the crowd who would not make way for their friend in need, the men
instead turned to their own resourcefulness to get into the home.
v They were undeterred by obstacles. While the narrative does not contain any dialogue between the men, the actions recorded indicate that these men overcame every challenge they encountered.
Time
has passed… methods have changed… but we still have the privilege of being
instruments of God. We can have a role in bringing others to the Lord for
salvation, healing, and deliverance. And though Sunday’s question was “Who are your ‘four’?”, I’d like to flip the
question for our reflection today: Is there someone that you have carried, lifted, and
placed at the feet of Jesus?
Lord God, we have looked
back on our faith-journey and we are so grateful for the men and women You used
to draw us to Yourself. Lord, how we pray that You will use us to be one of the
“four” for someone else. Give us Your grace to bear the burdens of others. Give
us Your grace so that we are not discouraged by the insensitivity of those who block the path that leads to You. Give us Your grace to stay on task, not giving up until we have placed at Your feet those who need
Your word spoken into their lives. Thank You for helping us. We
pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
All Scripture references
are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights
reserved worldwide.
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