Faith in Friends
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up…
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 (NIV)
Band of Brothers: A Writer’s Paraphrase of Mark 2:1-12
“He is finally back home”, the men heard. “He has been away too long, and we just cannot wait any longer. Our friend needs Him. Our friend needs us. He will not be able to see Jesus without our help. If there is any chance at a miracle, it will be up to us.”
The crowd can be seen from a distance. So many were gathering at the house. As the four men get closer, people rush past them quickly and the men realize their chances of entering the small house is getting slim. They cannot move as quickly. They are carrying their friend on the pallet that has been his life for years. They still try increase their pace while balancing their friend. The pallet wobbles back and forth on the stone pathway and their friend’s eyes widen with worry as they hurry, but he hears his friends’ reassuring words that they are almost to Jesus, so he takes a calming breath.
They arrive but the door is blocked by the multitude. They can hear Jesus speaking inside, but the crowds mumbling make it hard to hear. They quickly realize they will not get their friend to see Jesus this way. What else can we do? they ask. They look around and see a ladder to the rooftop. With a knowing grin to one another, they strap their friend to the pallet and tell him to hang on. Carrying him almost vertically up the ladder, the friends use all their might to bring him to the top. They sweat. They laugh. They push with everything they have with only one goal in mind – Jesus.
At the top of the house, they hear Jesus directly below him through the roof. They peel away the tile and plaster. The hole they are creating gets bigger and bigger until it is large enough to lower their friend. They see the astonished looks of the crowd looking back at them. Jesus and the crowd are covered with dust and crumbling mud. Their friend is lowered directly in front of Jesus. The looks. The mumbling crowd. The craziness of it all. Love makes people do crazy things.
Jesus looks at the man on the pallet in the eye. He touches the man’s head compassionately with His hand, then sees the four men on the roof. Jesus smiles and gives a wink. He nods with admiration of them - their faith then says to the crippled man, dangling in front, Son, your sins are forgiven. Everyone begins to look around, wondering what that could mean. The leaders question Jesus’ authority to forgive sins so Jesus, to demonstrate His power gives the miracle the man’s friends were anticipating. Get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.
As he slowly gets off the mat that has been his bed for so long, he puts his feet to the floor - not fully trusting that his legs will hold him. But his legs do. When his friends see the man stand on his own, the men, still on the roof and looking through the hole they created, applaud, laugh, hug, and cheer. They catch Jesus’ eyes again and in an instant, they are changed as well.
The story of the paralyzed man and the courage of his four friends in Mark 2 is one of the greatest examples of life change within a community of people intent on finding Jesus, together. We cannot gloss over the few words in verse 5 (NASB), “and seeing their faith….”. Jesus saw the faith of the man’s friends and He honored it. The man’s life was radically changed because of the crazy, courageous faith of his friends. This story begs us to ask the question, who are our friends? Are we a friend who climbs ladders and tears holes to get our friends to Jesus?
I am convinced that one of the most effective ways to fall into discouragement, worry, and a lack of strength is to deprive ourselves of the community God calls us to. Like a campfire that is squelched when the logs are pulled apart from each other, our spiritual fire smolders when we separate ourselves from one another in community. We tangibly experience compassion, grace, forgiveness, joy, and strength when I am surrounded by the people of God. His Spirit flows when we gather. At church, we can be tempted to just leave afterwards or stay at home to watch online. Do we ignore calls to join a small group or find a place to serve because we do not know where we will find the time? We may have tried in the past and were deeply hurt from someone so now we keep others at a safe distance. However, when we keep ourselves disengaged, we rob ourselves of the revival that happens when we let our lives be known by others. It can get messy and is not always easy, but when we come together, we are reflecting the beauty of new community God has called us to.
Go back and ponder the paralyzed man. Would he have ever gotten to see Jesus if it were not for his radically courageous friends? Would we be spiritually where we are if it were not for some special people who chose to enter into our messiness and bring us to Jesus? Probably not. So, let’s follow the words of Hebrews 10:24-25, “let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (NASB), and let’s see what God does.
Mary Quillin is a city-girl-turned-country-girl in her new life in North Dakota. She has been married to her hubby for more than 20 years and has 3 wonderfully different teenagers who are driving and she asks for your prayers.
After many years in full time ministry, Mary is learning how to show up and daily discover the journey of being available for whatever Jesus leads her to. She recently graduated with her Master's in Special Education and is investing in students as a "second half" career. She also spends her days trying to build a welcoming shabby chic farmhouse in the heartland while discovering the joys of vegetable gardens, raising hens, and North Dakota sunsets.