Let me start off by asking you a question. Have you ever stopped to wonder just how much the nature of who you are intertwines with the personality, morals, actions, and faith of another person? I can’t say this occupies my mind often, but recently it has pitched a tent between the school and Younglife compartments of my brain. Just to clarify, that means it comes up often because those are the most visited topics in my life. Anyway, I know that several people influenced my life dramatically throughout the years and I venture to say that I think their lives were impacted by my growth as well.
In Mark 2:1-12 an instance of this thought plays out. Jesus is talking in a building filled to maximum capacity. People had left behind a lot just so they could flock to hear Christ speak, which meant there was no sympathy towards those who showed up late and couldn’t get anywhere near an entrance. On this particular day there were four men who brought a paralytic to see Jesus. However, by the time they got there people were already spilling out onto the street. But don’t assume that this stopped the men for they were determined. In order to get the paralyzed man to Jesus, the other men dug a hole in the roof and lowered him down right in front of Jesus’s feet. Jesus healed the man of his sins and his nonfunctioning legs.
Now obviously the formally paralyzed man’s life was changed. For one he could walk now, and even better, he had met his savior. But what if we looked deeper into this story; what if we looked to see if the other four men’s lives were altered? Mark 2:5 says, “When Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ He didn’t mention the paralytic’s faith, but the men who brought him to Jesus, the men in the background. If these men did not have faith in the Son of God, what do you think would’ve happened? Or, get this, how much more do you think the four men’s faith grew after hearing Jesus say these words? The Lord used the paralytic to reach the four men’s hearts just as much as He used the four men to make His love and power known to the paralytic.
God uses the people around you to grow your faith just as much as he uses Himself in you. Here is a modern day example, or just a story of my life, take it as you wish. In the probably the last six months, I have seen more heartbreak than I know what to do with. From bumps and bruises to life altering decisions, it seems as if I’ve heard it all. My heart, in turn, breaks for these people I love. Even though I’m not going through anything traumatic at the moment, the Lord is using the close relationships I’ve formed to teach me compassion. A prayer that I’ve heard several times from those close to me, which I have now adopted into my life, is that God will help me to see others as He sees them. And part of that is hurting when they hurt; taking on their pain in a way that it becomes your own. I feel their distress as if I was the one going through the trial and it makes me love them as a brother or sister in Christ that much more. Joseph H. Hertz said, “Man is never nearer the Divine than in his compassionate moments.”
The Lord uses others to teach you, just as He uses you to teach others of His grace and mercy.
So start paying attention to the lives around you; you never know what you might learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment