Today in our Children's Church hours we studied the familiar passage in Mark 2, when 4 guys busted a hole in the roof of a house to lower a paralyzed friend down for Jesus to heal. Its a great story from the Gospels, in so many ways- How Jesus forgave his sin first, how the religious leaders present thought that was blasphemy, then Jesus also healed the man physically, and he walked out in front of God and everybody. Dramatic account, no doubt.
The part I was struck with though, was the determination of those 4 guys. They were willing to do whatever was necessary to put their crippled friend in front of Jesus, and see what might happen. As I prepared earlier in the week, I noted several things. First, these guys are never named. We have no idea who they were. We do know this, however- they believed Jesus was indeed who He said He was. Second, we don't know how the paralyzed guy came to be that way. Either he was born that way, or in some tragic accident he lost the use of his legs or worse. One thing is certain- he could not possibly get himself to Jesus. I think it might have been an accident, because these guys were so determined to see him healed. Had he been born that way, I don't know, folks might have just accepted it as his fate. Just speculating...
Anyway, whatever the cause, these 4 guys knew Who held the cure. I imagine them carrying their disabled friend down the dusty streets, to the house Jesus was teaching in, only to find the place jam-packed with people; filling the house, the windows, the doors, the yard, all trying to see and hear. Most folks would have decided to wait, many would have just given up and carried him back home, but not these guys. Their desperation led to innovation. They climbed up on the flat roof, pulled their bedsheet-bound friend up, then proceeded to smash a gaping hole through roof.
Imagine being in the room while Jesus is teaching. Suddenly, everyone hears loud thumping sounds coming from above, then some dust starts falling, and in minutes, the whole roof caves in! People are screaming, diving out of the way of the falling debris, coughing on the heavy cloud of dust... and as the dust settles, there is Jesus standing over a paralyzed man who had been lowered through the roof. And the rest is history.
A third grader asked me between one of the hours, "What did they do about the hole in the roof?" Great question! Somebody would have to pay for it, somebody would have to rebuild it. I imagine these 4 guys were more than willing, given the fantastic result in their friend's life. They saw an opportunity to bring their friend to Jesus, and they threw caution to the wind in the effort. They got all they came for, and more- their once-crippled friend was not only physically healed, he was made whole in the inside, more importantly.
Then I wonder, how many of us have that kind of determination and even desperation to bring our friends to a place where they can experience Jesus? So often, I don't. I tend to think of too many reasons it won't work, or they won't want to, or the timing won't be right, etc. Bottom line, I can come up with too many excuses. Sometimes, all we need to do is simply share the love of Christ in some tangible way with people, that opens up opportunities to verbally share Him. Other times we can bring our friends, like the 4 friends in Mark 2, to where Jesus is (His Church), so they have opportunity to experience Him. Whatever the occasion, I want to have more of the guts and creativity those 4 guys had. I want to be someone who has a "whatever it takes" attitude about bringing people to Jesus. In light of all eternity, that's all that will really matter- who we brought with us along the way.
If I could write my own epitaph, I would want it to say, "He followed Christ, and brought others along." I think that's the legacy of those 4 anonymous friends, and I hope one day it will be said of me as well.