Mat-Totters

Read: Mark 2

"And Jesus seeing their faith..." Mark 2:5

Examine:

The paralytic was in a community of faith. He was not alone. His friends cared enough for him to help carry him through life and believed in Jesus enough to dig through the roof in order to get their friend to Him. Jesus saw THEIR faith and was moved to compassion.

Apply:

I can not do life alone and I should not allow my friends to do it either. The key to both of these things requires humility. The paralytic could not hide his affliction. It was obvious and available for everyone to see. Me, on the other hand; I can hide my junk. A fake smile and some religious clichés and I can walk through life with everyone thinking I am cruising along just fine. That often leads me to carrying my own burdens. Inevitably, something paralyzes my faith and I am left alone, isolated on my own mat, and unable to get to Jesus. These moments call for mat-totting friends who are willing to labor in prayer and service with me to help carry me into the presence of Jesus. These types of friends can only be found if I am humble enough to be real about what is going on with me.

I am sure that the paralytic's friends had their own struggles. I am quite certain they could have used the content of Jesus' message that day or may have even had their own afflictions that needed healing. But on this day, they put aside their own needs to dig through the roof for a friend. My selfishness makes me dwell on my own pain and tempts me to forget about others in my life. I can become fixated on surrounding myself with mat totters and forget that I need to be totting a mat for someone else. I need to care enough about the people closest to me to know what they are facing and how I can labor with them. When a friend goes down, I need to be there to help do what is necessary to get them back into the presence of Jesus.

Pray:

It is easy to have faith paralyzed. Anxiety, fear, doubt, disappointment, hurt and convenience all have the power to break the back of even the strongest faith and render a person incapable of standing. This morning has reminded me of how important it is to be surrounded by people who are transparent with me and I with them. I pray that you help me become a better mat-totter for my friends. I need to move past the things that hinder me and focus on serving the pain of the people in my circle. Grant that I may have the power of prayer, the strength of faith, and the patient endurance required to fight for my friends when their own faith is lacking.

I also need to get better at allowing others to tote my mat. Transparency is risky business. It is hard to be vulnerable and real with others. The temptation to keep on a mask and keep pretending is strong. It is also stupid. The only thing worse than affliction is affliction with isolation. Give me the strength that is required to be real, the courage that is needed to ask for help, and the humility that is demanded to allow someone to carry me.