ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 2 DAY 2

MARK 2:1-5

JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC

1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

I love that Mark did not leave a footnote saying, “No houses were permanently harmed for this man to be forgiven.” We don't know if they ever fixed the hole they made in that roof! My claim is this: I believe the things we value will get wrecked when we obey and participate in God’s work. God often leaves a wake behind Him and, based on this passage, it can get messy. How sad would it have been if that man’s friends valued a roof more than their friend? Honestly, I hope I have a few friends like these guys, people who would rip the lid off of someone's house because Jesus is there.

I want to invite you to join God in His work, carry the hurt, broken, and lost of this world to Jesus, and bring them to church! Yes, there will be spills, holes in walls, stains on carpets, and every other kind of chaos, but all of that vanishes when they hear the Spirit say, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What use is a perfectly unstained, undented church? Today, and this week, let’s start inventing new and even messy ways of getting people in front of Jesus.