Day 4 - Here he is!
Mark 2:1-12
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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Bern Leckie writes:
Yesterday, Jesus might have seemed hard to find. Today, here he is – can you imagine how exciting it would have been in this house, in his presence?
Jesus saw faith in the men cutting a hole in the roof to help a paralyzed man. What does that say to you about faith – what is it? Where do you not only believe something could or should happen, but get your tools out and start to change things? Where is your sense so strong about how life should be different that you aren’t just waiting and hoping, but knocking through walls and cutting through roofs to get where you need to be? Does any hope draw you in that strongly? Would you like it to?
Imagine approaching Jesus like this today. He’s been hard to find. Now, you know where he is but there are walls in the way. Name them – what comes between you and time with Jesus? Being busy? Feeling tired, uninspired, guilty or ashamed? Have the faith to cut through those walls now and bring yourself, healthy or not, into Jesus’ presence. Let him see how you are and give you whatever you need.