Devotion
Someone has to decide to do something
“They came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four of them.”
Mark 2:3
One short sentence, and everything in this story turns on it. Four men decided the man on the mat was not going to stay where he was.
Mark doesn't give us their names. He gives us their number: four. Enough for one man at each corner of a mat. In that culture, a paralyzed man had no income, no mobility, and no way to advocate for himself; he depended entirely on whoever was willing to pick him up. Notice the verse doesn't say he begged them or that they were asked. It simply says they came, bringing him. Somebody looked at a life that was not going well and decided to do something about it, and then talked three friends into helping.
Practice
Be honest about someone you know whose life isn't going well right now — a diagnosis, a divorce, a job loss, a kid in crisis, a marriage that's quietly falling apart. You've thought about them. You may have even said "let me know if you need anything," which is a kind sentence that puts the work back on the person who has no strength for it. Today, decide instead. Choose one specific thing and do it before you go to bed: drop off dinner, send the money, take the kids for an afternoon, show up on the porch.
Prayer
Father, I've felt sorry for people and called it love. Forgive me for stopping at feeling. Bring one person to mind right now, and give me the courage to do one real thing for them today, even if it's inconvenient and awkward. Make me a mat-carrier. Amen.
This Week’s Message
This devotion follows along with this week’s message.