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Dusty · 06-16-2008, 01:39 AM

So often in that story of the paralylic we focus on his healing and salvation but our pastor focused to day on the men that carried him.

Genesis 4:9

9 .....Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

John 13:34

34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

And her theme was in Mark 2 :1- 12 . Jesus Heals the Paralytic.

Focussing on who is our brother and why we need to be our brother's keeper she pointed to the four men who carried the paralytic to Jesus to be healed and saved .In all our stories we are always told that the men were friends but it does not say in the Bible whether they were or not.? In saying that we are our brother"s keeper, these men could have been passing on the road and saw the man and knew that Jesus could forgive his sins and heal him,They took great strides to carry this man over the very rugged roads to where Jesus was . They were men of courage , boldness and determination and men with a mission.

These men did not quit and say they would come back another day because they could not get through the crowd. No, they persisted and had great faith in Jesus.When you really think about them carrying this man on a stretcher up to the roof, even that was a very difficult task. But also, think about them making a hole in some one else's roof and it had to be a big enough hole to lower a stretcher down with the man on it so to even think how difficult that must have been. What love these men had for this paralytic.

When Jesus saw their faith , he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are forgiven " Get up take your mat and walk. Think about it , the man had to be lowered down from the roof and walked out and probably the crowd make a way for him to leave through the door.

Our challenge . Would we walk the extra mile to help some one in need and not just our family ? Would we take the time to bring someone to Jesus who needs to be saved ? We are our brother's keeper and need to show our love to others as Jesus first loved us . I need to and you need to.