Stay Connected
Friday, June 25
Stay Connected
And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them….Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. Mark 2:1-3
Over the past year a new word we’ve all added to our personal dictionary is the word – Essential. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word essential is defined as ‘extremely important or necessary’. From the beginning of time we see that God did not create man for them to be alone. Oh no….in the book of Genesis we read, God saw Adam was lonely and provided him with a helpmate (Eve). Connections or people are vital to our growth here on earth. We see this in the account written in Mark 2 – The Healing of the Paralytic.
The news was out: Jesus is in town. With Jesus help was available for those who were out cast in society. However, there was a problem. As a paralytic there was no way he (the sick) could get to Jesus. Physically disabled people like him were not only immobile but usually poor. Useless to society and lacking help from the government, they invariably lived as social outcasts. So what hope does the paralyzed outcast man have? On his own, nothing. Thankfully the story doesn’t end there.
Mercifully some men knew of this man’s dilemma and came to his need. They helped him get to a house where Jesus was teaching and receive healing. It was the connection the paralytic had to these men which brought about the divine healing of God. Reminding us that connections in life are very important.
Maybe part of the challenge that we are having today is we think spiritual development is an individual thing. We see spiritual development is that it is too inward focused and not community focused. However I want to remind you that community is the essential part of God’s plan for Christian spiritual development. It is not something that can be sacrificed on the altar of busyness. Community is essential, it is tied to the formula that God has for His children to develop. Here we see the paralyzed man was not healed because of anything he has done on his own, he was healed because of those whom he is connected to.
May you be encouraged to find or remain connected to someone who is connected to God.