Faith and Urgency
Mark 2:4: 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.
The faith these friends demonstrated in the power of Christ to heal, as well as the sense of urgency they felt to see their friend made whole, combined to illustrate for us the relationship between faith and urgency.
Like these friends, we know and love people in need of the healing touch of Jesus. We know those who are suffering emotionally or spiritually or physically. And we definitely know those who are suffering relationally–especially those of us involved with the Marriage Resource.
And, like these friends, we believe in the healing power of Christ. So the question is, do we have the sense of urgency these guys did? Do we love those who are hurting so much that we are willing to NOT give up when an obstacle makes helping them difficult or maybe even seemingly impossible?
These friends viewed the impassable crowd and looked up. Then they took it upon themselves to scale the building, with their paralyzed friend in tow, and piece by piece dismantle the roof so they could lower their buddy to Jesus. I’m sure this demolition process created quite a bit of dust and debris on the heads of those gathered below–probably exciting judgment and criticism and even anger. But propriety didn’t matter when the health of their friend was at stake. The urgency of his need took precedence.
This leads my heart to our roles in The Marriage Resource. Many are suffering broken hearts and broken spirits in their marriage relationships. This is a suffering we know only too well. But now that God has restored us, we have become the friends who must find a way, even if it means a radical way, to bring other couples to the One who heals and restores. This is our call. This is our joy.
Heavenly Father, help us to be the kind of friends that feel the urgency of others in need of your healing. Help us to see opportunities to bring those in need into your presence so they can experience the joy of redemption and restoration as we have. Thank you for your healing touch upon our lives and our marriages.
