FAITH IS VISIBLE
Mark 2:1-5 NKJV
2 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
This is a well-known story of the friends who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Four men carried their friend to Jesus when they encountered a problem. The house where Jesus was speaking was jam-packed. All kinds of fire codes were being broken, and there was no way they could get in front of Jesus.
But they found a way. These four men went up on the roof and broke through it to let their friend down in front of Jesus. Can you imagine how disruptive that had to be? Jesus is speaking to a full house and having to lift His voice in order to be heard and four guys are upstairs tearing the roof apart. As a side note, as a speaker, you have to be locked in and focused to continue speaking with that kind of interruption. But this was not an interruption so that these men could gain attention. It was a faith interruption to see their friend healed.
The visibility of their faith began when they made the call to head to the roof. They could have looked at the packed crowd and determined that their lack of access must have been the will of God. If that had been the case, they would have turned around and gone home. These men must have seen the large crowd as only a barrier, not the will of God, because they found another way to get to Jesus.
And their faith showed up again when they started to break the roof up. Other gospels tell us that there were religious leaders and prominent people present in the house. The men could have seen this as too big of a risk and backed off their plan. Maybe they didn't know about who was present, but in any case, they were obviously not deterred. They believed the healing of their friend was worth the risk. It seems faith is energized by having a purpose bigger than self.
And their faith in Jesus was visible. They believed He could heal their friend, and they must have believed that He was good. That Jesus would not kick them off the roof for disturbing His teaching. That Jesus was different from all the other religious leaders of that day.
Jesus saw their faith and healed their friend. I bet there was a lot of rejoicing as the five men walked home together.
APPLICATION
How does our faith show up today? I believe we operate in more faith than we have recognized. When we spend time with God in prayer and reading His word. When we are a part of a church family. When we give our tithes and offerings. When we disrupt our schedule to serve God's people and Kingdom.
Are there barriers to doing all the above? Absolutely. But like the four men, if we don't allow the obstacles in our path to turn us back. If we continue to push through and find a way, then our faith is visible. And remember, according to Hebrews 11:6, it is faith that pleases God.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, that I do have faith in You. And I am growing in my faith.