Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” …..—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!” (Luke 5:17-26)
I have done some crazy things in my time. You might not think they are super crazy….I’m not much of a thrill seeker…but I thought they were death-defying feats at the time.
Then I met my husband, who is a thrill seeker (shark dives and bungee jumping), and my crazy feats…well…not so much. I love his zest for life. His willingness to take risks. I’m so thankful for him…he pushes me (in a good way) to get outside of my safe little box and live the adventure. Take some risks. Live a little crazy!
Jesus was preaching to a crowd one day. Not much of a shock there. Crowds followed Him everywhere. I mean it was standing room only. The fire marshal would have had a fit if he had walked in. There was no safe exit plan in case of emergency. There were wall-to-wall people.
So, Jesus was preaching, and the power of God was present to heal, and there was this one guy who really needed it. He was totally paralyzed, and some of his friends were carrying him on his cot. The only problem was they couldn’t get in the house. Remember, wall-to-wall people? They all wanted to hear Jesus. There was no way they were giving up their spot for this guy.
For some people, this would have been the end of the story. “Bummer! I couldn’t get in. Oh well! I tried! Maybe next time.” Many of us would have given up and left discouraged and disappointed and still paralyzed.
But not this guy. Lucky for him, he had some crazy friends. He had friends willing to take a risk. They took him up to the top of the house, tore the roof apart, and lowered him down right in front of Jesus.
Some might have said, “Hey guys. Let’s think this through. We are going to rip the roof apart? Surely God can do this some other way. Let’s try to catch Jesus on His way out. He has to come out eventually, right? Let’s be logical about this!”
But no… they tore that roof apart, lowered their friend down through to Jesus, and he left under his own power. He left walking on his own two feet, glorifying God! Why?
This says, “When Jesus SAW THEIR FAITH…” How did He see their faith? They had a tenacity about them that said, “I don’t care what it takes, we know Jesus can heal, and we are getting it today…now!” He saw their act of crazy faith that tore that roof apart.
Faith activates the power of God. Maybe you are hesitant to step out and act on your own. Okay…everyone has to start somewhere. Maybe you just need some crazy friends….friends just crazy enough to encourage you when you’re down. Friends who are just crazy enough to take hold with you to believe for your miracle. Friends who won’t let go, even if it takes work and time and effort…Even if it means ripping a roof apart.
God never intended for us to do this thing called life alone. This guy could never had gotten his miracle alone. He couldn’t even walk, let alone climb up on a roof and rip it apart. Don’t let discouragement or disappointment keep you off the roof. Call in the cavalry. Get some friends around you who are just crazy enough to take God at His Word and stand with you through to victory! Or better yet…let’s BE that crazy friend! Who’s ready to get a little crazy?
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it. (I Thessalonians 5:11 Message)