I don't know why, maybe because I do not read things clearly, but I always assumed that it was the faith of the paralytic who was lowered through the rooftop to meet Jesus whose faith saved him. But it wasn't. It wasn't his faith at all. It was the faith of the friends who carried him.
And it wasn't easy. It couldn't have been. What a heavy load to carry...a man who can not move for himself. I wonder if he asked to be taken, or if his friends took him regardless of what he wanted. And then there was the crowd.
When things get too heavy for me to carry, my knee jerk reaction is to just put it down and leave it there. The thought of lifting and carrying and for God knows how long overwhelms me. I become paralyzed. I am blocked by the crowd of fear, doubt and sorrow.
And I also go to great lengths to avoid a crowd.
These friends of this sick man did what I need to do. They carried the one who could not move on his own. They were not discouraged by the crowd, they stayed persistent and found a new way around the obstacle. They took whatever faith they had and put it into action.
And that is when faith blooms; when it is put into action.
We need to not give up.
We need to find a way to bring the paralyzed to Jesus.
We need to see a way to Jesus when the crowd tries to block Him.
We need to open the roof above and lower each other down.
Mark 2:1-12
