Thought for the Day: We all have friends who have let us down and disappointed us. It is unexpected and perhaps, undeserved; but, it happens. I joke with my undertaker friends that they are the last people to “let you down.” Of course, their letting us down is a little different that friends letting us down. Undertakers let us down and get paid to do it. There was a fellow in the Bible who was let down by his friends and the event changed his life not for worse but for the better. There are several amazing parts of the story. One of them is that neither the man’s name nor his friends’ names are recorded. The man was paralyzed and so could not walk. In that day, there were no wheelchairs or any easy method of getting around. His friends evidently really loved their friend because they picked him up on the mat on which he laid and brought him to Jesus hoping that Jesus would heal him. When they got to the destination, they discovered that all the front row seats were taken; in fact, all the seats were taken. They couldn’t even get in the front door. Not to be stopped or discouraged from their mission, they tore up the roof of the house and let the man down before Jesus. Instead of immediately healing the man, Jesus forgave the man’s sins. We must note that our Lord did this not based on the man’s faith but based on that of the man’s friends. And, then if that were not enough, Jesus healed the man to show that he had the power to forgive sins. What friends this man had! They would not be deterred from bringing him to Jesus where he found healing not only for his body but for his soul. We must ask, “What kind of friend are we?” Are we letting our friends down by not doing everything to bring them to Jesus? Got any friends that need Jesus? Scripture for the Day: Mark 2:2-5 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Let Us Pray: O God, help me to be the kind of friend that brings my friends to Jesus. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:54:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015