These past few weeks I have really been diving into the book of Mark. There is a wonderful story about how a group of guys took a man who was paralyzed and took him to this house where Jesus was preaching. This story is so incredible to me because during this time, the paralyzed weren't in the middle of town square, but rather outside of town and essentially out of the way. These four guys took it upon themselves to go out of their way and take this paralyzed man to Jesus. But it didn't stop there. The house that Jesus was preaching in was completely packed. There were people everywhere, and frankly not enough room for four guys to carry another guy to the middle of the crowd. So these guys climbed on the roof and literally dug a hole in the roof and lowered this man down to Jesus. How incredible is that?? So then, Jesus told the man that because of the faith of those four men (who are unnamed), his sins were forgiven.

Now, I don't know how much you know about paralysis...but you may know that the person is unable to move, no matter how bad they want to. This can be related to many people in our lives right now. Maybe it is somebody in our dorm or maybe somebody we work with...they cannot move and essentially cannot control their life. Maybe they are overcome by doubt, guilt, or maybe shame. But here's the thing. They may be sitting right in front of you and it seems that they are wearing a "help me" shirt or maybe they won't. Maybe like this story, they will be out of the way, out of our normal routine.

So, what are you going to do? Are you going to go on with your daily life and disregard that there are people lost and hurting? As Christians, we have a higher calling. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, and that relates directly to bringing people to Jesus, no matter how "out of the way" it may seem.

I may seem like I'm getting a little worked up about this, and that's probably because I am...but only because I was that person. I was that person paralyzed by fear, guilt, pride, and shame. I thought that I was independent and that I could do it all on my own. But then somebody went out of their way on multiple occasions to invite me to church with them. She didn't stop there. She continuously poured into me and helped me get connected so that I could grow in my relationship with Christ. You see, it's people like her...people who go out of their way, bring people to the place where Jesus is, people who are willing to climb on the roof and lower somebody down to Jesus. It's people like her that give me hope each and every day.

Here's where I may step on some toes. We aren't doing enough. People these days are so self centered when it comes to their time and their agenda...but who are they really helping there? Sure they are making it through the day fine, but what are they doing to lead others to become followers of Christ? Our time here on earth is so limited, and the only thing that actually matters is what we end up doing with it.

So, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep living in your Christian bubble? Or are you going to go seek out those lost and hurting people and show them the unconditional love that Jesus showed us first? It won't be easy, it's going to be awkward...but think about how your life has been radically changed by His love and let that alone drive you to share that love with everybody you meet.

I love you, and I'm praying for you.