Today’s scripture: Mark 2:1-12 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Tammy Mills):
This story really challenges my belief system. (I hate when that happens.) I was taught that asking for help and relying on others was a terrible thing. I hear this telling me just the opposite.
Here’s what I am thinking. A paralyzed man hears Jesus is in town and perhaps this Jesus has the kinds of gifts that could be used to make him whole again. He wants more than anything to get to Jesus, but he can’t get there on his own.
The man has these four amazing friends who decide to make sure their friend gets to Jesus. They gather him up and carry him to where Jesus is — but when they get there the place is too crowded and they can’t get their friend in to see Jesus. Many friends would give up at this point. Some would even say, “Well, we did the best we could.”
These friends go above and beyond the call of duty. They take their friend to the roof and dig a hole, and they lower their friend through the roof to Jesus. (I wonder what was said amongst them when one of them got the idea to dig a hole in the roof. I also wonder what the owner of the house thought when he saw a hole being dug in his roof…)
Jesus is so moved by the faith of these friends that he heals the man. The main truth I draw from this scripture is that we aren’t designed to go through this life alone. God created us to be interdependent. We need friends who from time to time can carry us to Jesus and we need to be the friend who sometimes carries another friend to Jesus.
Thought for the day: You don’t have to go it alone. It is good and right to reach out for help.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.