“And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” Luke 5:19

Do you have good friends? Are you a good friend? It is a good question we need to all answer. We can see a beautiful example of faith, trust and love in this passage of scripture. This man, who was paralyzed, had friends that stopped at nothing to bring him to the feet of Jesus to be healed. And then Jesus, “saw their faith” (5:20), told the man his sins were forgiven, but there is a bit of conflict over His choice of words. So Jesus used different words, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (5:24). The man got up and glorified God. Nothing else is mentioned about his friends. However, do not miss it was the faith of the friends that Jesus took note of. I want that kind of faith.

Do you see yourself in this story? I sure do and depending on the day, I am the one being carried and on another day, one of the friends desperate to get a friend to the feet of Jesus. Honestly, I am more comfortable being one of the ones doing the carrying. Taking people to Jesus simplifies where help can be found. And if you have been at His feet, you know there is nothing like it. In fact, it is wonderful to stay awhile when you do bring someone. I have started thanking the Lord for what He is going to do on my friends behalf. It may look different than I think or want, but I trust Him with my friends.

Who needs you to carry them today? Do you need to be carried? I would love to take a corner of the mat if you need me too.