I Corinthians13:13 says, And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.  I love that verse! There is so much in this one verse. For example, the word charity is a term that means benevolent love. It is a term used to describe sacrificial love. God never does anything by accident, so it is no accident that He chose to use the word charity. Many modern versions of the Bible have opted to translate the word simply to love, but the word love does not mean the same thing as charity. The word love has many definitions; it can mean many things to many people and not necessarily does it mean sacrifice. I believe God uses the term charity because it implies giving without expecting anything in return. If I give something to Goodwill or to Amvets, I don’t want it to show back up on my doorstep. I’m giving it away. I don’t want it to come back. According to I Corinthians 13, this is the way true love is to be given-freely, with no expectation of return- but given because true joy, peace and happiness is found in what we give, not what we get.

     The story we are going to look at today is an example of that kind of love. Mark 2:1-12 tells the story of four people who worked together to get a man to Christ and what they went through to do it. Their story is the story of a labor of selfless, sacrificial, Godly, unconditional love. But what God gave back to them because of their faith attests to the fact that we do reap what we sow and whatever we freely give away, God gives back in a richer and greater way than we could ever imagine. Let’s look at the story:

     Mark 2:1-12, And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. There are several things here that I want us to see. First, the problem…

1. The Problem…Four people needed to get a man to Jesus for healing but did not know how it could be accomplished as there were many obstacles in their way and the people who had come to hear Jesus preach were obviously not sympathetic enough to the sick man’s needs enough to let them through.

Then there was a decision…

1. The Decision…Four people had to agree to defy the norm and work together to get their friend to Jesus knowing there was no guarantee of success. In fact, their decision to attempt such a difficult venture could well open them up to shame and ridicule instead. Nevertheless, they agreed to try.

But decisions without action won’t equal success. All four had to be willing, determined and courageous to accomplish what the decision would require.

1. The Determination…Four people could only have determined to face the odds if they each had a cause higher than self. And it couldn’t have been two of them or three; it had to be all four. Difficult choices require heavy consideration. They had no way of knowing if their mission would be successful or not. They had no idea if they could get the man to Jesus once they got him on the roof. They didn’t know what obstacles they would face along the way, but all four weighed in. They counted the cost and were willing to commit. They chose to labor and risk failure rather than not labor at all. But their individual faith, selflessness and determination made them collectively strong. 

Once the decision was made and the four friends committed themselves to the cause, action followed.  However, I feel sure, that the action they chose was probably not well-received by onlookers. Can you imagine how challenging it must have been for them to get a palsied man on a stretcher on a roof? I imagine the crowd might have even been annoyed. After all, in the best of endeavors, it seems it would be a noisy, awkward, distracting undertaking, especially to those trying to hear Jesus speak. I would imagine that probably the four friends endured unkind and discouraging words, perhaps even name-calling, ridicule, taunting and jeers.  

1. The Journey…What was most amazing to me, though, is that the Bible tells us that when Jesus saw THEIR FAITH, He immediately forgave the palsied man’s sins and healed his body. It was not because of the palsied man’s faith that Jesus did it, but because of THEIR FAITH! Think about this…Jesus knew what was happening at the “back of the auditorium.” He knew what these four friends were going to do before they ever did it. Jesus knew they were going to carry their paralyzed friend up on the roof, tear the roof off over His head and lower the palsied man down to Him through that hole. Jesus saw. Jesus knew. And yet, Jesus let them labor. Why? He could have said, “Okay folks, there is a palsied man in the crowd that needs to see me. Could you make way and let these people through?” Or, He could have just spoken healing from where He was. But He didn’t. He let them labor. He let them do the hard thing. He let them face the taunts and jeers. He let them work hard and sweat. He could have rescued them but chose not to. Why? Well, we know that God uses adversity in our lives to grow us and to mold us into the character of Christ. We know that true love is only known by the action it prompts. We know that God often allows adversity so His glory can be seen. When the palsied man took up his bed and walked that the people were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. Maybe He let them labor because He knew that this man’s problem and the four friends’ faith would be a tremendous illustration to the world of faith, hope and charity because when faith, hope and charity are seen at work together, God is always glorified. Hence, the description of true love through visible, charitable giving as expressed in I Corinthians 13. 

Maybe Jesus let them labor because Jesus knew that this crowd was a tough crowd, a selfish crowd who desperately needed to see what selflessness, sacrifice and unconditional love looked like. We know this because not only were they unwilling to budge in order to allow a sick person to get through, but because there were scoffers and skeptics in the crowd, who Jesus knew would try to reason away faith. Then again, what if it was the four friends who needed to grow in love, courage, commitment, conviction and selflessness? Maybe they had been scorners and skeptics and Jesus had changed their lives but now they needed to grow in faith so Jesus let them labor. What if they needed to see that sacrifice and determination really does pay off? Let’s take it a step further…what if the sick man’s palsy and inability to walk was the result of meanness, selfishness and pride? Jesus did recognize the need to forgive him his sins before He healed him. What if the man had hurt these four men so badly- perhaps stolen their money, foreclosed on their homes, or slandered their names and reputations- that when he got sick, they were initially glad at his calamity? Maybe that is why the people outside the temple doors wouldn’t budge to let the palsied man through? What if, in appreciation for forgiveness of their own sins, the four recognized their need to forgive the palsied man and get him to Jesus? Maybe they felt that if Jesus could help him then He truly was the Son of God. Maybe everyone, including the four friends needed to experience what true unconditional love and true unconditional sacrifice and forgiveness was all about.  All surmisings, yes, but possible. Are there not lessons in this story for all of us? We don’t know what prompted those four to go above and beyond the call of duty to get the man to Jesus but we know that Jesus forgave the man of his sin because of their faith.  Then there was…

1. The Rope…Eccl. 4:12 says, A threefold cord is not easily broken…faith, hope and charity-a threefold cord…Four friends could not have gotten that man on the roof without rope. They couldn’t have lowered the man down through the hole in the roof without rope. They could not have even used rope if all four weren’t willing to hold the rope to lift and lower. And, they could not have let go of the rope without risking injury, harm, or death to the man on the stretcher. They had to cling to that rope, hold firmly to that rope and refuse to let go in order to get this man to Jesus. Without that rope, tearing off the roof would have been futile and in vain. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. The rope was the link, the tie, the connection to miraculous change! Then there was…

2. The Opposition…Satan hates unconditional love because it is the only force in the universe that he has NO POWER against! The power of charitable love destroys his influence so he immediately and vehemently opposes, discourages and publicly challenges ANY display of it, purposing to cast doubt on what was seen or heard.

3. The Act of Obedience…We must not forget that even through all of this, the palsied man still had a choice. He had to exercise faith by obeying Jesus before he could walk. It may be that his sin-sick problem was a result of his refusal to obey commands or listen to authorities. It could be that bitterness toward God had made him the biggest skeptic and scorner in town! It could be that when Jesus gave him the command that the whole crowd held their breath to see what the man would do. Maybe that is why it was such a miracle and the whole crowd declared that they had never seen it on this fashion. Whatever was the reason, Jesus gave the man a command that had to be obeyed before healing would come and, in spite of all the efforts of the four, the palsied man had to decide for himself what he would do. He could have said, “No, my legs will never have strength; they will never carry me. I cannot believe.” He had to choose whether to trust by faith what his reason could not see or live forever strapped to a bed. Would he also reason away faith? His choice would determine his destiny. 

4. The Result…I believe that he did not feel Holy Spirit power course through his body to give strength to his legs until he sat up and leaned forward by faith to put weight on his legs. It was hard to trust. Fear of falling may have gripped him as he moved to stand. Nevertheless, when he stepped out by faith to do the hardest thing he had ever been asked to do, a miracle took place! Multitudes witnessed it. The power of charitable love opened the door to a supernatural act of God that the skeptic world could not explain away. Faith, hope and charity filled the hearts of everyone in the room and God was glorified!

In conclusion, may I say, no matter what we face, whether we are the one paralyzed by grief, pain, hurts, disappointments and bitterness, lacking in faith and forgiveness or we are the one trying to get someone we care about to Jesus, it is only when we are willing to step out by faith to do the hard thing that true victory can come. Are you in a bad marriage today? Do you have a wayward child? Are you caregiver to someone who is mean and hard to deal with? Have you lost a child? Were you ever molested, abandoned or disowned for your beliefs? Are you a foster child? Does anger, bitterness or skepticism fill your heart? There is power in love and the Bible has the answer to every struggle we face. What can we learn from this story? 1. Labors of love will never be in vain; 2. Charity is the power of love that we ust embrace if true change can ever take place; 3.  We have to cling to the rope of faith, hope and charity no matter what obstacles we face for it is the link between us, Jesus and healing; 4. The greater the trial or storm, the more determined we must be to defy the odds and the naysayers and trust what we cannot see, go forward and not let go of the rope; 5.  Realize that every adversity is for our growth and God’s glory. God will never put us through more than we can endure without making a way of escape; 6.  We cannot outgive God. He sees our faith, our efforts, and our desire to make a difference in the lives of others and it pleases Him. He will give back in a richer and greater way what we have given; 7. A three-fold cord is not easily broken…Faith, hope, charity…And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

I hope this devotion blessed you as much as it did me. Have a wonderful season!