Today's "Moment With Mark (30) - Great Friends
12 December, 2012
The man jumped up, took the mat, and pushed his way through the stunnedonlookers. Then they all praised God. "We've never seen anything like this before!" they exclaimed. Mark 2:12)
I can't help but think of another episode that has a lot of similarities to what Mark has recorded here. In Acts, there was a man who was carried every day (presumably by friends) to the precincts of the Temple where he begged for a living. In due course he begged from Peter and John and the end result was his healing - just as it was in Mark's account of another paralysed man.Great Friends
But my mind goes to the friends of each of these men. One group carried their friend to Jesus hoping he will be healed. The other group carried their friend to the Temple hoping that he will get enough from those who pass on their way to the Temple to sustain him in his condition.
I'm not about to criticize any of these friends. They must have been very faithful, caring people to do what they did every day. But there is something very compelling in the comparison between these two lots of friends. One lot (Mark) took their friend to Jesus to get him healed. The other lot (Acts) took their friend to the Temple to get him a dose of religion.
Where are you and I taking our friends?