Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." -Luke 5:18-20 (NIV)
We are never told whether the paralyzed man had faith, whether he believed that he could be healed or whether he wanted his sins to be forgiven. Instead, the writer focuses on the determined faith of the man's friends and how Jesus responds to their faith. When he sees the faith of the friends, he forgives and heals the paralyzed man.
I want to surround myself with people who possess that kind of faith: people who believe in me and in God even when I can't or won't. Perhaps Jesus will chose to work in my life or in someone else's life because of the faith of friends.
May God grant you the grace to have friends whose faith ultimately results in you experiencing healing and forgiveness today.
Tomorrow's Readings: Daniel 11-12 and Luke 6. Sunday's readings are Ezra 1, Psalm 84-85 and Luke 7. I'll be back Monday with a devotional from Ezra 2-3 and Luke 8.
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