Mark 2:12
Have
you ever been blow away by something you have seen? Some things in life are
literally life-changing experiences. They have such an impact on our lives that
it is as if in moment you walked around a corner into a different world. I have
had a number of those moments in my life. I have also had the privilege of
working with people whose experiences in those moments changed their lives in
some very painful ways. Their new corners were very dark indeed. I am thankful
that the LORD can bring light into the darkest rooms.
We
have one of those moments recorded in our passage today. A crippled man was
carried by some friends to Jesus in hopes that Jesus could heal his physical
body. He became an object lesson by Jesus to prove that He had the ability to
forgive sins. Nothing could have prepared him for the moment Jesus spoke those
words to him. It was life-changing.
The
moment Jesus told him to get up, take his mat, and go home, he did. There was
no hesitation in his actions. This is what he had come for, and this is what he
had gotten. Jesus told him to do three things, and three things he did. This
was obedience.
If
I put myself in this man’s shoes for a moment, I can imagine that my
expectations might have been low when I was being carried to this stranger’s
home where Jesus was preaching. I can imagine a bit of embarrassment and anticipation
as I was lowered into the dust filled room in front of the crowd. Maybe a bit
of confusion as Jesus talks about forgiveness of sins. But when He tells me to
get up, I move. Something happened inside this man in that moment that changed
everything, and he was about to let that moment pass without his response.
And
as the crowd sees the man stand up, immediately pick up his mat and work his
way out through the crowd, the crowd that would not let him in a few minutes
ago, the place must have exploded with excitement. And the excitement isn’t
aimless. The excitement is directed toward the LORD in praise. This is where
excitement of this kind needs to be directed.
But
not all life-changing moments are positive ones. Many soldiers in combat turn a
corner and there is horror smack in their face. And this horror often haunts
them, as it does just about everyone who turns such a corner. And people who
have been sexually assaulted have often been forced around a corner they didn’t
want to turn. In moments such as these, it can be very difficult, if not
impossible to gain enough perspective to see beyond that moment. We get stuck
in such moments.
Fortunately,
Jesus wants to enter those moments and speak just as powerfully to us as He did
to the cripple. And for hundreds of folks over the years, a new corner, a
brighter corner, a more hopeful corner has been turned. We often need someone
to walk with us through those dark spots and back into His light. I want to
encourage you to find someone to help you walk through your moments.