“And they came unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was carried by four men.” (Mark 2:3)
I want to name these four unselfish men. Note that everyone else had already gone to the meeting to get a front row seat. The four men who took part in the man’s healing represent four vital elements in a great work of grace.
The first man’s name I will call Prayer. Prayer is the fundamental necessity in every move of God. In Luke 11 Jesus reveals the spirit of prayer in the man who continued to knock at his neighbor’s door for food. This man was intent. He could not be denied. His importunity opened the door. Jesus said that this is prayer.
The second man’s name could have been Faith. Faith grows out of the seed-bed of prayer. A strong prayer life begets strong faith. Faith is the normal outgrowth of fervent prayer. Faith becomes real and alive to the extent that we vitalize it through prayer.
The third man’s name might have been love or charity. The world is waiting to be loved. People will go anywhere when they are convinced that you love them. It is impossible to catch flies with vinegar, but you can catch hundreds of them with syrup. Love will win every time whereas criticism and hard knocks will repel those who need our help.
Let’s call the fourth man’s name Perseverance. When they arrived at the house where Jesus was preaching, they found it impossible to get the palsied man through the crowd and into the presence of Jesus. The fourth man, Perseverance, went looking for a ladder while Prayer, Faith, and Love were doing their part.
An old southern preacher once said, “There are three points in perseverance. The ‘fust’ is take hold. The second is hold on, and the third is never leave go!” Perseverance keeps pressing in when it looks impossible and pressing on in the face of difficulty. Perseverance knows that when you have Prayer, Faith, and Love working for you nothing is impossible to you. Jesus said, “Arise, take up your bed and go thy way.”
Full of Grace,
Pastor Danny
