Wednesday, April 7, 2010

How Far Will You Go for a Friend?

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:4-5)

The story of the paralyzed man who was healed by Jesus is one of the most touching stories in the Gospels. Had this man not had four friends who cared enough about him to take the time out of their day to carry Him to Jesus, he would have never experienced forgiveness of his sins and healing from his condition.

His four friends truly went the extra mile to take care of their infirmed pal. Imagine them carrying their friend through the streets of Capernaum, coming up to the house where Jesus was teaching, and finding it packed with people. The doorway was crammed with people trying to get a glimpse of the Miracle Worker. Others were hanging over the windows, watching and hoping for a miracle of their own.

These men could have easily been discouraged and thought to themselves, "Well, I guess today is not our day. Let's take him back home and we'll try again next time."

But they would not be defeated. They took their buddy up on the roof, dug a hole through the roof (I'm sure the homeowner was really excited about that!), and lowered the paralyzed man down to a front row seat.

We all need friends like that! And... to have friends like that, we must first BE a friend like that! When was the last time you went the extra mile for a friend?

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