Luke 5:18-19 (NLT2)...

...“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” As we continue this series on the powerful power of community, we see in this story a paralyzed man who does not have much going for himself. But he has friends…he has the fellowship of the mat…he has community with this small group of men. Someone had to feed him, carry him, clothe him, roll him over so he wouldn’t get bed sores, clean him when he soiled himself. He will never know the sense of independence we prize so much.

This paralyzed man has friends…he has amazing friends. This is the killer small group of all time. This whole story takes place because of his friends. Without his friends he never makes it to Jesus, never gets healed, and never gets forgiven. All this happened because years ago he decided to have friends. Choosing to be in community. These guys placed value in being friends and being a part of community. Psychologist Alan McGinnis “Assign top priority to your relationships. Ironically, we tend to devote massive amounts of time to making money, running errands, and succeeding at our jobs, but we neglect giving our most valued possession ---time---to the experience we were created for: community. This story illustrates how much we need each other.”

Community takes time. John Ortberg – “The requirement for true community is chunks of unhurried time. If you think you can fit deep community into the cracks of an overloaded schedule---think again. Wise people do not try to micro-wave friendship, parenting, or marriage. You can’t do community in a hurry.” 

Think about it…you cannot listen in a hurry, you can’t mourn in a hurry with those who mourn, or rejoice in a hurry with those who rejoice. We all have mats. Who carries your mat sometimes? Who do you show your weakness and struggles to? Who do you ask to pray for you? Who do you let see your brokenness in this community? If you want a deep friendship, you can’t always be the strong one. You will sometimes have to let someone else carry your mat. That is what happens with this man in this Bible story. This small group of people becomes friends. They become a community. They have to be formidable and intentional to be friends. John 15:13 (NKJV) “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.”