Luke 5:18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, He said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”
>Strong’s word for crowd is “multitude” and it means “rabble” or a low class of people.
While I have often been just as paralyzed as this guy: no direction, no vision, no hope of forward motion with Jesus, my issue in reaching Him is just the opposite. It’s not the rabble pressing in on Jesus that limits my proximity…it’s the rabble pressing in on me. While I have this awesome and every-day opportunity to seek and find Him, to ask for healing from my immobility…I let the crowd hold me back. Not everything in the crowd is “rabble” ( a low class of distraction). My family, my home, my job are all certainly worthy of my attention, but lots of things are not. All of these pieces of the crowd – in varying degrees of intensity – push in to absorb my time, my day and even my desire to find a way in to seek Jesus. Actually, I think a LOT of people – especially Americans – give up too quickly when seeking Jesus gets hard to do.
So I love how this guy and his friends just will not give up.
They don’t.
They won’t.
They devise a plan to get him in and quite a plan it is…it’s a gutsy move. He could get hurt, he could be rejected by the angry mob – or even an angry Jesus. Somewhere, it’s clear that this guy developed such a desperation for healing that the risk was worth it. Of all the characters in the enormous Word of God, I think I may identify with this one the most. Somewhere inside of 2007, I got desperate to find Jesus. Desperate to be built by Him…even if that meant being taken apart first. Even if it meant risking everything.
For so many years, I have stayed hidden in the crowd and suffocated by – yet secretly thankful for – their company. Finally, I decided to find a way through the roof. Though it would have seemed ridiculous and impossible a few years ago, the tile that had to be moved was the tile called: MORNING. The very small door labeled “before sunrise” was the opening through the roof that I needed to get through the crowd. In fact, I’ve discovered that the streets are pretty quiet and the ordinarily busy and bustling world is nowhere to be found at that time. The only one pressing in for time with me at that hour is the very One I’ve been desperate to talk to. And finding Him here has been the best thing in my life.
Absolutely the best thing ever.
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Also, check out my comment on the Janna post
Also, I’m apparently trying to steal all possible comments, so here’s one for free.
I certainly love the blanks…I wasn’t sure if you were speechless or just really, really mad (I know how you love your mornings!) and THEREFORE I was glad for the explanation. 🙂 K…checking the Janna post comment…did you see her new tattoo? (I got spell checked on tattoo…I must be over 40).
Excellent post…I too am discovering the wee hours of the morning even on Saturday mornings where I feel one with the mattress…it definitely is a treasure worth digging and seeking.
Thanks!
Helen
1. This blog changed my life.
2. I’m excited for small group on
Sunday!