When Jesus Sees Faith

And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic: “Child, your sins are forgiven.”  Mark 2:5 (Reference Bible)

Word gets around that Jesus is back in town.  We go at once and find where He is and fight the pressing crowd until we make our way through to the front.  He is in the house and there isn´t much room.  The crowd spreads out the doors and into the street.  But we sit near Him to hear what He has to say and see if He will do something amazing.

Then suddenly small pieces of the ceiling begin to fall on us.  We are annoyed.  Jesus keeps on teaching but it is difficult for us to concentrate on what He is saying.  More and more of the roof is being broken back and whoever it is has no concern for those of us who are underneath trying to listen.  We can´t believe it when those party-crashers above have the nerve to lower a man down through the hole.  This is over the top.  Don´t they know how to behave.  They should get in line and wait like everyone else.  Have they no respect or dignity?

But Jesus´ reaction is different.

Jesus sees that the man they are lowering is a paralyzed man and could not stand in line if his life depended on it.  Jesus has something and is something extremely special.  We have come to him and it cost us only a little effort, we have been lucky or quick to grab our place.  This man and those who are helping him approach Jesus are risking it all.  They care not what discomfort it causes those of us who sit comfortably below.  They are not thinking of the damages they will need to repair on the building.  They are doing everything in their power to get to Jesus.

Does this make an impact upon us?  You and I may have found our seats before the Lord, but what kind of faith is it that brought us here?  If you and I are not satisfied with the size of flame that burns with the Holy Spirit inside of us, what expectations have we set?  How have we demonstrated our faith and desire towards the One we believe we should be seeking?

Jesus saw this show of determination and faith and He wiped away their sins and infirmities.  What sign of acknowledgment did He give to those who sat comfortably in the front row of the congregation?  Our Savior is looking for and responds to those precious few who take the extra step and go the extra mile.  He loves all people, but He rewards those who will not settle for less of Him.

What are you and I doing today to seek His presence and His attention?  Are we filing into a good comfortable seat where we can hear and see well?  Or are we throwing care to the wind in our desperate need to get right to Him.  Are we each individually trying our best to make sure that we have got His attention and He speaks directly to us?

Dear Jesus, we could respect the normal ways of behaving, but we feel a need and urgency to get ourselves directly to You.  Help us overcome our fears and our reserves and do whatever it takes today to hear Your voice personally.  We are not talking about letting someone else pass information to us out on the street.  We are not talking about comfortably taking in the scene from our chairs.  We want to risk our very lives if we must so that we bring ourselves to Your attention.  See our feeble efforts, find faith somewhere inside us so that we too can hear You say; “Your sins are forgiven!”

Amen