Mark, 2, 1-12 recounts the compelling story of the day, early in His public life, that Jesus performed a miracle for a paralytic. Jesus had returned to Capernaum and St. Mark tells us that there were so many people gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door. Then, some people came, bringing to Him the paralyzed man, carried by four of them! And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him. And after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He forgave the man his sins and restored him to full health.
Notice how faith opens a door (or a roof!) to a living relationship with God in Jesus. Faith was the opening to both the forgiveness of sins, and then to the healing of the man. The faith of all those present, including his four friends, helped the man. In this sense, the opening to the healing was provided by their faith.
Are we ever anxious to get our friends to Jesus? Are we undeterred by the obstacles faced, willing to find a way to draw near to the Lord and draw others near to Him?
