PASTOR SUSAN YOUNG
Our Father’s House
“On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you,’” Luke 5:17-20
I have read this scripture countless times and heard it preached many times, but as our Pastor read this passage this past Sunday, it hit me.
How often do we say, “I’ll pray for you,” when we hear news of a friend struggling with an issue. We go about our day and we pray for them. We dismiss our obligation as fulfilled through prayer. And sometimes, that is all that is required, but sometimes it will take more than the action of prayer.
In this passage of scripture it was clear that this person didn’t have the ability to get to the prayer meeting.
Sometimes our faith will cost us more than our prayers. It will cost us our time. It will cost us a call to fellow believers for help. It will cost us going to lift the bed of a friend in need of Jesus.
It will cost us to think beyond the obvious, the door entry with which to bring our friend into the presence of Jesus. It will cost us our fear of heights. It will cost us learning how to raise a roof. It will cost us some sweat and muscle. It will cost us the painful lifting of a bed and lowering of a friend before their only hope, Christ Jesus.
The results? Jesus looked at their faith, the collective, and moved on their behalf toward their friend. Walking this Christian path will cost us more than we ever intended to pay. Are we ready?
