Friday: Rooftop Ripping Friends
Read: Mark 2:1-5
SOAP: Mark 2:4
When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on.
Devotion:
What does it look like to be a good friend? The friends in this passage are a powerful example of what it means to be a true friend. These friends knew their friend’s suffering and sought healing from Jesus. When the crowds of people threatened to prevent their friends’ healing, they did not give up. They found a creative solution that displayed great faith. When it says Jesus saw their faith, it means both that Jesus saw the faith of these hardworking friends and that He saw the faith of the paralytic.
It takes faith to fight for your friends, and it takes faith to let them fight for you. When our friends are suffering, we need to be the kind of friends who will fight to seek God’s comfort and healing. When we are suffering, we often need to cease our striving and let our friends bear our burdens with us. We were not intended to be self-sufficient; we were created with a need for relationships that will point us back to God.
Prayer:
God, show me who in my life is hurting. Give me the resources to serve them well and give me the right words to comfort them and glorify You. Amen.