The passage I'm referring to is from Mark 2:1-5 and it says, "A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers 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 paralyzed man, 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 by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven."
Now what struck me about this piece of Scripture immediately was the fact that the four men who carried around this debilitated person stopped at nothing to get their friend to see this Rabbi who was traveling up and down the coast telling people about the kingdom of heaven. There was seemingly little or no thought of their own well being, only a singular desire to bring this man face to face with the Son of God.
It struck me right away how a good portion of people in our country today will act the same way and with the same vigor ... but for very different reasons. Consider for example, how much trouble the average sports fan would go to in order to get tickets to see the big game. Or the amount of money someone might pay to make sure they end up at just the right venue in order to take in a concert by their favorite band. To many of us, entertainment and popular culture is king.
"Two hundred dollars per ticket? No problem, I'll take two", they might say.
But these four men - whoever they were - demonstrated this type of devotion toward something much more worthy of such perseverance. Something pure and good, not tarnished by idol worship or misplaced adoration. No, they had their sights set on God straight away.
The second thing I took from this Scripture was the fact that they really did show an amazing faith. Remember verse 5 says that Jesus noticed this fact as well. These men did whatever it took to get to God, which meant going as far as cutting a hole in the roof. They realized that if they could simply come into contact with Jesus, he would do the rest. The specifics didn't matter - they were going to get their friend as close to Christ as possible.
In fact, the reader will also note that this act of faith was rewarded immediately. Jesus looked at the paralytic and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
But some might say that this wasn't the same as a physical healing. After all, to walk again is really what they were after probably, right? The next few verses in fact, talk about how Jesus healed the man's legs as well. But the Gospel of Mark makes certain that we know the physical healing wasn't the most important thing. It followed only after the washing away of the man's spiritual sins. First Jesus attended to the man's soul, and then his body after.
So what do we do with this lesson today? Do we shift our focus from the all-encompassing sports event, to church on Sunday? Do we change out that little place in our heart that desires to have this or that, more so than God?
Yes. I believe that is what we do. And probably the sooner, the better. Author C.S. Lewis was fond of saying, "if we are on the wrong path, then the faster we turn around, the quicker we end up at home." It is never too late to turn around and point our hearts back to God. Never too late to return home.
Do whatever it takes to get closer to your creator. Rush toward God. We know from other parables such as the prodigal son and the lost sheep that God the Father will take us back immediately if we have strayed. He will allow us back into His good graces, even after we have allowed other things to become more important to us than they should be. He takes us back after welcoming other things into our hearts, when God should have been the rightful occupant.
But all of this discussion about idolatry can fall flat sometimes I suppose, especially because most of us already know it. We've had this anthem sung to us at church already at some point. And in light of that, I will leave the discussion about idols here and stop short.
What matters really - what mattered to the four people lowering their friend through a thatch hut roof - is that nothing was going to get in the way of a face to face meeting with Jesus.
If you are at home with God already, then revel in that joy. You are lucky indeed. If you are not, then sometimes turning around immediately and heading the opposite direction is the fastest way home. Rush home toward the God that will take you back, no matter how long it has been.
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