Mark 2:5, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.'”
Jesus was teaching in a house in Capernaum. The people wanted to hear him so much there was no room to get in and it appears the house was surrounded by people. Four friends of a paralytic man carried him on a stretcher to be healed by Jesus. When they got to the house, they realized there was no way they were going to get in through the front door because of the crowd.
Mark 2:4, “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.”
If you have ever cracked walnuts, you know how hard it is to get through the outer shell. We keep working at it because we know inside the hard shell is a wonderful tasting nut. We wouldn’t worry with it if we didn’t have the belief that the nut was inside.
This guy’s friends not only loved him and wanted for him to be healed, but they believed he could be healed. If I could make a YouTube video of the event, I would titled it “Faith in action.” When they realized they couldn’t get in the house, they climbed up on the roof and dug a hole large enough to then lower him down through the hole. Can you imagine what was involved in the doing so?
There are times when we have to carry the load. We have to have faith for our friends and family. Sometimes, a person cannot do it alone. Do you realize the faith of our friends can change our circumstances? Prayer is important – yes! But there are times when your friend needs more than your prayers, he needs to see your faith in action. Maybe he needs you to fast for him. Maybe she needs you to invest money in what she is trying to do. Whatever the situation, as Christians, we have a responsibility to show our faith for someone else’s need.
When Jesus sees our faith in action, He will move mountains for our friend.
