“When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And some people came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. And when they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:1-5 NASB)
My favorite T-shirt with the saying, “Be careful what you say or do, I might just write about it!” – well, just know that the saying remains applicable, and no one is invulnerable, invincible, or untouchable from the truth those words convey. This include the new, dynamic Pastor of the church I attend, Salt of The Earth Church in Indianapolis. When I say, dynamic, I am not exaggerating merely because this pastor is my son. If you don’t believe, pay the church a visit.
Let me provide with proof that not even Pastor is omitted from the saying above. As he was preaching Sunday about the four men in the text above, men who found a way to get a paralytic to Jesus after being unable on at least one other attempt, he pointed out that the men did not give up. You saw that in the passage above from The Book of Mark. At one point in the delivery of the sermon, Pastor gave a true analogy, a story about the time he had to replace his refrigerator. He let us know that for some reason, whoever designed the house made the place for the refrigerator smaller than that of a normal size refrigerator. Therefore, he had to really search to find one that was 25.5 inches wide. The search seemed futile at first. Every standard refrigerator on display was too wide. So, not giving up, he ordered one that would fit. In preparation for the new refrigerator to be delivered, he moved the old one out to the garage, through the garage door. When the refrigerator man showed up with the new delivery, he brought the new appliance into the garage, looked at the entry door and said, “This is not going to fit.” Now, you could tell Pastor was puzzled at this remark, as he demonstrated how he just stood back and crossed his arms across his chest, standing in silence for a moment. He knew if he could get the old one out, same size as the new one, that the latter one would fit. The point Pastor was making was that unlike the four men that got the paralytic to Jesus, when faced with a barrier or an obstacle of some type, not necessarily physical or architectural, we often don’t even try to overcome what is in our way. We become like the refrigerator man. Instead of looking to godly advise from our circle of godly friends or before praying directly to our God on high, we just say, “Un-un! That can’t be done.” But here is the good news! When you depend on your godly circle of friends who are well versed in the word and have a close connection with God, you will find out that you can do all things through Him who strengthens you! Listen! Relationships can be fixed! Repeat tendencies to sin can be fought off successfully! Yes, the devil can be defeated! Joy can be experienced in tough times! Basic needs can be met when one seeks ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness! Hope can be restored! The noise of the world can fall on your deaf ears! I could go on and on, quoting Pastor, but let me just leave you with His ultimate instructions: “Don’t be like the refrigerator man and give up! Get your problem to Jesus!”
Pastor showed confidence that getting to Jesus works by quoting the familiar song, written by Jospeh Medlicott Scriven in 1855, a composition that I will use in closing. But before I close, let me repeat the admonition: “Don’t be like the refrigerator man!” Have a great Tuesday! Be blessed!
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King