I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy
bed and go thy way into thine house.
Mark 2:11
I've been looking at the story of the paralyzed men, which can be found in the 2nd chapter of Mark's gospel...
bed and go thy way into thine house.
Mark 2:11
I've been looking at the story of the paralyzed men, which can be found in the 2nd chapter of Mark's gospel...
In the story, four of this man's friends, in the act of concern and desperation, took it upon themselves to carry him to Jesus so that, hopefully, he could be healed. And in their eagerness to get help for their crippled friend, these men climbed onto the roof of the house Jesus was staying at, and they ripped it open. Here they made a hole large enough to lower the man down into the crowded house in order to reach the Savior. Talk about teamwork!
And shouldn't we who are Christians have the same attitude today? We should want to do whatever it takes to get people to the Lord. We cannot always expect them to come to Christ on their own. After all, they may not know how to pray or what to pray for. They may not know how to seek the Lord's help. Or perhaps they're too afraid to approach Jesus because they think, as I once did, that the Lord will reject them for committing too many sins.
Therefore, as Christians, we must take the initiative to bring the lost and hurting to Christ. And, in this story, not only did the paralyzed men get healed, physically, but his sins were forgiven as well.
Of course, the Lord's pronouncement that this man's sins were forgiven angered the religious rulers who'd been observing everything. They hated Jesus from the outset and were always looking for reasons to accuse Him of blasphemy. And when people get healed and forgiven today, there are oftentimes self-righteous folks who'd get angry about it, too. For whatever reasons, they cannot stand to see Jesus perform a miracle. They get ticked off when a sinner gets a divine pardon, as well.
Nevertheless, as the Lord's servants, let us do our part to gather the spiritually needy and the helpless, and bring them to Jesus. Let's be as determined as this man's friends were to get them to God.
D.B.
And shouldn't we who are Christians have the same attitude today? We should want to do whatever it takes to get people to the Lord. We cannot always expect them to come to Christ on their own. After all, they may not know how to pray or what to pray for. They may not know how to seek the Lord's help. Or perhaps they're too afraid to approach Jesus because they think, as I once did, that the Lord will reject them for committing too many sins.
Therefore, as Christians, we must take the initiative to bring the lost and hurting to Christ. And, in this story, not only did the paralyzed men get healed, physically, but his sins were forgiven as well.
Of course, the Lord's pronouncement that this man's sins were forgiven angered the religious rulers who'd been observing everything. They hated Jesus from the outset and were always looking for reasons to accuse Him of blasphemy. And when people get healed and forgiven today, there are oftentimes self-righteous folks who'd get angry about it, too. For whatever reasons, they cannot stand to see Jesus perform a miracle. They get ticked off when a sinner gets a divine pardon, as well.
Nevertheless, as the Lord's servants, let us do our part to gather the spiritually needy and the helpless, and bring them to Jesus. Let's be as determined as this man's friends were to get them to God.
D.B.
