Bringing Friends to the Healer
Four persistent friends, a crowded house, a hole in the roof, and a forgiving Healer together led up to a lame man walking out of the house, forgiven and healed. (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26)
At Seven Acres Ministry, our purpose is to see individuals, couples and families receive emotional and spiritual healing and be able to experience healthy relationships. As spiritual mentors, we cannot produce healing ourselves. Ultimately, Jesus is the Healer. Our role is similar to that of the men who carried the lame man to the crowded house. We listen to people’s stories of pain and, in prayer, bring them to Jesus for healing.
This summer I shared this Bible story during a family reunion worship time. A young lady volunteered to play the role of the lame man. Lying on a blanket, she waited as I started the story. When I got to the point in the story where four men carried the man, I asked her Dad to select the ones to carry her. I trusted her Dad to select family members he trusted to carry her safely, and he did. Trust is a key element in bringing our friends to Jesus for healing. As spiritual mentors, we trust God to guide us through the Holy Spirit, and we need to live trustworthy lives that allow people to trust us to “carry” them to Jesus, the ultimate Healer.
As you think about this Bible story, I invite you to reflect with me:
I wonder how the man felt when the men carried him on his mat to Jesus. Did he know where they were going? How did it feel to be carried up and then lowered down through the roof? I wonder what the four men did after the lame man was no longer lame. Did the no-longer-lame man wait for the other men or did he run ahead of them?
I wonder how Jesus might have me bring someone to Him for healing. How can I be trustworthy? What problems might I encounter? What creative solution might God prompt me to try? I wonder how I might respond when I see the person healed. How long might I need to wait to see results?
I wonder how others might take me to Jesus for healing. Am I willing to be taken to Jesus? How can I find a trustworthy friend to take me to Jesus or will the trustworthy friend find me? What obstacles might my friend have in taking me to Jesus? How would I respond to my friend? How would I respond to Jesus?
*image from Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org
