Would You Dig a Hole in a Roof for Stan?

(This is a sort of rough draft, I apologize if there are any typos, please let me know, and please let me know if this makes any sense. Otherwise, enjoy)

There is an interesting story in Luke 5 (take the time to read it, I’ll be here when you are done). It begins with Jesus teaching in someone’s home. And yes, Jesus did a lot of teaching and a lot of the time in people’s homes, but this time was a little different. Friends of a paralyzed man wanted to bring him to Jesus. But there was a problem. A large crowd had gathered inside the home making it impossible to get inside, let alone near Jesus. With these facts in mind, the friends didn’t give up while others would have given up.  Perhaps the paralyzed man (whom someone dubbed Stan) told them to not bother wasting their time. Even with the odds stacked against them, Stan’s friends decided that if they could go through the door that they would get through the roof.  Getting on top of that roof and getting Stan (who cannot move and is on a sleeping mat) up on the roof must have been quite a project in itself. Once on the roof, the group of friends began to dig through the roof. They were not going to give up until Stan was in front of Jesus.

I don’t think that anyone expected to see a person being lowered down on a mat through a hole in the ceiling. Finally the friends’ hard work paid off. Stan was now at the feet of Jesus. And  Jesus forgave his sins and healed him, not because of Stan or anything that he did, but because of his friends’ faith. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:20.

Would you go to all that trouble to lower Stan through a hole (that you made, mind you) in someone’s roof just to get him near this man (Jesus) who you have only heard about? And you don’t even know if anything is going to actually happen. But once you find out that Stan is paralyzed all you want is for him to be healed and because of that you would go to all that trouble that a crowd and a roof couldn’t even stop you. Now that is a friend worth having.

Now the question you want to ask yourself is, are you that kind of friend? Are you the kind of person that would lower a friend (not just Stan) in front of Jesus? Pray that he would be healed and believe that they will be healed? And the other question to ask would be do you have friends that would do that for you? Really think about that.

I will let you think on that while I talk about how this story is a prime example of how important community is in our lives. After all, God never meant for us to be alone. Remember that God is three in one. Which means that he is never (I mean NEVER) alone. And so when God created us in his image, he gave us the same need for fellowship with others. There are so many examples of this throughout the Bible. I will only highlight a few examples here:

“If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” ~Ecclesiastes 4:10

“It is not good for the man to be alone.” ~Genesis 2:18

So even when we were created, we weren’t meant to be alone. In general then (unless God is calling you to do so), it may not be good for you to decide to become a hermit. You need other people, God wants you to be with other people, and he wants you to build strong close friendships. These friendships are an awesome thing to have in your life and when you are in need, you will have people that will know to lower you in front of Jesus. And you will know when your friends need the same.

Jesus is a great example to look to in the realm of friendships. Reading through the beginning of the New Testament you can see the closeness between Jesus and the disciples especially with Peter. If we look to Jesus and have the faith of Stan’s friends than I think that we can learn a lot about what friendships and our communities should look like.

This past weekend I got to a glimpse of what lowering (or you being lowered for that matter) someone in front of Jesus.

Let me set the scene first:

A group that I attend on campus called Christian Impact was having their annual Fall Getaway up in beautiful Vermont (close to Woodstock). Well, it rained all weekend which may have turned out to be a good thing. Anyway, our speaker’s topic for the weekend was ‘Spiritual Revival’.  He talked about what he called process and breakthrough and how it connects to the Christian life. Both are needed but there also needs to be a balance between the two. Our speaker asked us if we were spending too much time on the process or breakthrough side. We discussed what each one meant. Your walk with God involves times of process (working toward something) and breakthroughs (results of that process). And this all eventually lead into Saturday night. He began talking about the campus that he did campus ministry on. They had this event that was led by students from another college. The students talked about God and about living transparent, authentic Christian walks. Roof off with God and walls down with other Christians and opened up a time of confession for anyone that felt called to go up. This of course is the first step toward that authentic walk, by admitting that yes you are broken and becoming humble before others. It is also what God calls us to do.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed…” ~James 5:16

He wants us to do this for a couple of reasons. First is by confessing your sins, you get rid of any footholds that the devil may have had inside you. Second, you are healed. Just like Stan was healed (I know that he didn’t confess anything, but I’m getting to the connection).

After our speaker was finished his talk, the group was split up. Girls (we stayed in the main meeting room) and guys (who went off to the living room area that was in the building we were using). Once the guys were gone, a time was opened up for confession just like the one that our speaker had experienced. After a person had confessed, people were asked to come up and pray for that person and speak truth into their lives.

After admitting that they were broken, we now knew what to pray for. We could lower them in front of Jesus (through our prayers). This way they could both be healed and forgiven. All of this was amazing to experience. Not only did many women help lower their friends before Jesus, but they also had that gesture returned. And I was one of them and realized that it can be scary to admit that you are struggling in a certain area in your life, but it is worse (in the long run) to keep it locked away. How is any one is going to know you are ‘paralyzed’ unless you tell them? They won’t. They won’t know that you need to be healed. And they won’t know then to lower you before Jesus. So as scary as it may be, it is also quite freeing to speak what has been on your heart for a long time.

That night, God showed me that I have difficulty trusting him with a certain area of my life. Part of it my come from my self-worth. For the longest time, my self-worth remained at a low level. Especially throughout middle and high school, I never thought of myself as beautiful and I didn’t have many friends and because of this, I didn’t feel worth anything. This feeling, I believe, passed into my relationship with God. I fell for the lie that he couldn’t use me and that he didn’t have anything in store for me (or I didn’t deserve it). Much of that, I hadn’t realized until that night, God used that time to show me this, gave me the chance to heal and move past it. This all happened because of the friends that knew I was ‘paralyzed’ and could finally be placed in front of Jesus to be healed (and forgiven).

The whole experience highlights the importance of community. We need it because when we are involved in one, we can get the support we need and do the same for others in our community. Without it we are vulnerable to attacks from the enemy. This is highlight by the way animals like lions hunt. They do their best to separate their prey from the rest of the herd. Separated from the herd, they become an easy target.  And so when we separate ourselves, it is the same thing. And this is highlighted in this verse.

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?” ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-11.

To be simple, we need each other. Just like Stan needed his friends, like we need each other, like we all need God. We were built to be in fellowship together and with God. We need to work on creating communities where we can do that. Where we can help each other grow our relationships with each other and with God. Where we can get the support we need and give support when it is needed. Lower each other before Jesus. Pray for each other. Listen to each other. Keep each other centered in Christ. Building a community like that is crucial. Living a roof off and walls down kind of life is a great way to start. It keeps you honest. It helps you to avoid struggling in silence and pretending you have it all together. Keeping up a façade like that can be very exhausting. No one benefits from this and by avoiding this we can avoid thinking that everyone else has it together except us. After all, no one is perfect except God.

In the end, just as Stan’s friends were, we should be aware of our friends and know them well enough to know when they are ‘paralyzed’ and to take them time to lower them in front of Jesus. And do your best to surround yourselves with close relationships, so that when you are ‘paralyzed’ they know to bring you before Jesus. And by doing this we can be healed and forgiven by each other’s faith.

This appears to be what God wants for us, to have close relationships with each other and with him. Without those relationships, we isolate ourselves and become easy targets for the enemy. The enemy is always looking for an easy target. When we become an easy target, we are in a lot of trouble because we don’t have any one to lift us up. So please, please, don’t isolate yourself. Build strong relationships and put yourself in a community that would dig a hole in a roof for you. This way you can get healed and your sins forgiven. And it helps you to grow your faith in God and trust that he will come through and heal and forgive our sins (through his son).

So my question is, would you dig a hole in a roof for Stan? Would you want someone to dig a hole in a roof for you?