I have heard the story of the paralyzed man many times. But, in church not too long ago, our minister pointed out that perhaps the friends of this man should be the focus of this story. I had never really thought about the friends too much, but wow, when I finally did, I was blown away by their faith.

This man’s friends carried him (I don’t know how far, but they carried him on foot I would assume) to find Jesus. They believed in the healing power of Jesus so much, that they were willing to do anything to get their friend in front of Him. Now, that friends is resolve.

To be so determined that they would carry him and then dig through the roof and lower their friend down…just to see Jesus. With complete faith that he would be healed.

We all have times in life when we are paralyzed – by fear, by anxiety, by sadness, by disappointment. You name it. At some point, we all will be paralyzed by something. And, at some point, our roles may reverse and we may have friends who are paralyzed. Maybe they need us to do whatever it takes to get them to Jesus. Yes, we all need Him.

And, in those moments of paralysis, we all need someone willing to take the time and go the extra mile – even if it means digging through something and being a little uncomfortable – just to get us to Jesus.

I want to be that kind of friend. And, yes, I am thankful for the friends I have who do this very thing for me. Praying we all just get to Jesus…however it takes.

“Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” – Luke 2:4,5