Read: Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:3-12; Luke 5:18-26
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. (Mark 2:3 ESV)
Story of Jesus and the paralytic is one of my favorites. Just imagine for a second if you'd been in Jesus' place. He was standing there teaching all of those people—it was a capacity crowd—and suddenly the roof opened up and a crippled man was lowered into the room.
Jesus had compassion on the paralytic. He healed him. He forgave his sins. But what if the paralytic's friends hadn't lowered him through the roof?
Who are you in this story? Certainly there have been times in my life when I was the paralytic. On many occasions I have found myself on the receiving end of an encounter with Jesus that was initiated by a loving friend. Sometimes that friend didn't even know what they did. Hopefully we all have friends like that. People who would tear apart houses and disturb the neighborhood, loved ones that would be willing to shake up the status quo a bit to initiate an encounter with the Prince of Peace.
What about all of those people around us that don't have anyone like that in their lives? There are millions, no billions, of people who need an encounter with Jesus. And every one of them needs at least one friend who would be willing to get out of their comfort zone and take them to Jesus.
Sometimes introducing someone to the King of Kings is about simply demonstrating an authentic lifestyle. At other times its about opening your mouth and sharing the truth. And then sometimes you just have to get them to a place where Jesus is. What will you do when the time comes to carry them to the One they need most of all?