2008 Woodie Awards
On Faith: Living in a Christian Community
Lindsay Widenhouse, Special to The Carolinian
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Life
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (Mark 2: 1-12)
What amazing friends! These friends worked tirelessly, arduously to carry their hurting friend to Jesus, and Jesus forgave this man's sins because He saw the faith of the man's friends. It was hotter than hot in Capernaum, so everyone was sweaty and smelly. There were bugs. The crowds were massive and the friends could have given up when they saw that it would be nearly impossible to get to Jesus. Instead, they managed to carry their paralyzed friend up to the roof, where they dug through a mud or thatched roof and lowered him into the house! Imagine if every time you were hurting, every time you felt broken, lonely, sad, or heartbroken, your friends would drop everything they were doing to help you feel better. They would comfort you, love on you, pray for you, cry with you. What an awesome community that would be.
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (Mark 2: 1-12)
What amazing friends! These friends worked tirelessly, arduously to carry their hurting friend to Jesus, and Jesus forgave this man's sins because He saw the faith of the man's friends. It was hotter than hot in Capernaum, so everyone was sweaty and smelly. There were bugs. The crowds were massive and the friends could have given up when they saw that it would be nearly impossible to get to Jesus. Instead, they managed to carry their paralyzed friend up to the roof, where they dug through a mud or thatched roof and lowered him into the house! Imagine if every time you were hurting, every time you felt broken, lonely, sad, or heartbroken, your friends would drop everything they were doing to help you feel better. They would comfort you, love on you, pray for you, cry with you. What an awesome community that would be.
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