Last week during church there were some strange noises coming from outside. They were muffled at first, but then, right during communion, loud banging and sawing noises came from the roof. It seemed like men were digging a hole in the roof to let down their paralytic friend. Actually, it was the roofers coming to fix the roof from Irene's damage back in August!
It made me wonder what that scene was like for Jesus, though. Was it loud and disruptive? Did anyone go outside to see what was going on? Did it all happen in the middle of a sober moment of prayer?
So often the Bible is read without thought or feeling. But those stories all happened, and they happened to people like me and you. Ordinary people experienced the extraordinary and rushed to be near it. The dead were raised, lame healed, sight restored, and hearing renewed. Crowds gathered to witness something they didn't understand but knew they wanted to be a part of. Some came hoping to get a free meal or a fresh start on life. Others came to jeer at a nutcase. Still others came to plot and kill and destroy.
But why did those men on the roof come? They came because they wanted something better for their friend, and they knew where to get it. They didn't come to make their own lives easier. They didn't come for a handout or a headstart. They came for the sake of a friend.
Do you have a friend who needs to be taken to Jesus? Don't wait for him to crawl there himself. Strap him to a mat and carry him up on the roof yourself. Give him the help he needs, so that Jesus can give him the healing that he needs. Then you too can be part of an extraordinary experience.
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