Just dropped Steph off at fish camp. What a mess! Oh...in case you don't know what "fish camp" is...freshman orientation at high school.
God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!
But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy! Verses 1-3
Anyone else wishing this would hurry up and happen??
God's enemies seem to be on the move. But as much as we desire to see his victory, it is still our job to spread his good news to the world.
Mark 2:1-12
This is probably my very favorite of all of the healing stories of Jesus. I can remember this story from my early childhood!
These four guys bring a paralyzed guy to the house where Jesus is. They're carrying him on some kind mat, probably. They couldn't get in the house because of the massive crowd that had gethered, so they get on the roof, dismantle the roof, possibly even diggin a hole in it, and lower the guy down to where Jesus is. Now, consider that our Saviour probably had a pretty good sense of humor. I can just see him laughing at the persistence of these guys! A good-natured laugh, of course, but still...to me, it just presents a humorous picture.
Jesus, strangely, doesn't start out by healing the man. First he tells him that his sins are forgiven. This, of course, causes whispering among the religious leaders.
He can't talk that way! That's blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins. (Quoted from The Message)
Jesus, being able to read their thoughts, responded. He asked them, then, which would be easier...to say, "I forgive your sins," or to say, "Get up, pick up your bed, and walk home?" Without even waiting for them to respond, to prove that he was who he said he was, he turned to the paraplegic and did exactly that. Told him, "Get up, pick up your bed, and walk home."
And that's exactly what happened.
The Bible says people were so amazed, they were rubbing their eyes in disbelief, saying, "We've never seen anything like this!"
I'm not sure which of the various participants in this story I would identify with the most. I'm not sure who the house owner was, so I don't know how he responded. Some would be angry because their roof was getting torn up. But, if this person was a friend of Jesus, and committed to the healing that he was bringing, it would be a small price to pay for a paraplegic to be healed.
I think I would identify more with one of the paraplegic's four friends. Here is a group of guys that were not going to give up. They were going to get their friend to Jesus! No matter what the cost.
Who do we know who needs to be carried to Jesus? I really need to ponder that today.
Grace and peace, friends.