1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-5)

These verses have become incredibly important to me lately. Yet, as much as they tell us, there is so much more that had to have gone on in the story. Imagine that you had a friend that was completely paralyzed and that the only doctor in the world that could heal him came into town. The only possible way that you could get him there was to carry him across town… walking… not in a car or a truck. So, you call up a few friends and let them know your plan and then you all load your friend up on a mat and begin the long trek of carrying all of his weight across town only to find upon your arrival that it seems like the entire town has crammed into this house and all of the surrounding areas. Would you give up or would you be dedicated to making sure that your friend had a chance to be healed? The four friends in Mark 2 were dedicated to making sure that their friend saw Jesus on that day. They were willing to carry him up onto the roof of this house and rip it apart just so that he could see Jesus. Notice that in verse five, it says that seeing their (the four friends) faith, Jesus healed the man. That is amazing to me! So, now imagine that you have a friend whose spiritual life was completely paralyzed or was dangerously close to it and you knew of a place where he/she could be healed… what would you do? How far are you willing to go to be sure that people see Jesus? What are you willing to do? Do you need a biblical explanation of why you should pray for your friends and those around you? “Seeing THEIR faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”