I shouldn't say dropped. They lowered their friend down, on his mat, to a place right in front of Jesus.
Jesus, pleasantly interrupted, looked at the paralyzed man laying before him on the ground, and in response to their faith said, "My son, your sins are forgiven."
And the pharisees said, "What? This is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
And the four guys on the roof said, "Great. Now how are we going to get him out of here?"
And Jesus said, "Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up, pick up your mat, and walk'?"
That, I find, is an interesting question.
You see, Jesus had the capacity to affect the man's circumstance AND offer him forgiveness. He could do BOTH. Yet, he chose to address the man's most significant need first. The forgiveness of his sin. The validation of his soul. He saw the spiritual brokenness masked by physical brokenness. He responded to his deepest need first. Only then did he tell the man to grab his stuff and get outta there.
Jesus always seemed to have his priorities out of whack.
So does The Adventure Project , and that is why I love them.
When I think of helping others, sometimes I am easily distracted by their extreme physical needs - poverty, starvation, sickness, and the like, that I forget there is a person trapped inside every horrible circumstance. The Adventure Project reaches out to that person by offering more than a handout - they offer a hand up to a place of dignity. That's something I want to be part of. That's something I want to give my life to.
So my wife and I are trying to get involved to make a difference. We have the capacity to both serve the person and help meet the need. Neither is easy, but the power to change the world is found in every effort to do BOTH.
