“A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark 2:1-12)

One of our staff asked me yesterday, “Hey Sco, I am speaking to my leaders on this passage tonight.  I have my talk done, but was just curious, what points would you make?”   The following was my fast scratched out answer:

• Leaders have to be close enough to the action to see the needs.  These guys knew the needs of this man.  They knew where he lived, they knew what he would say when they showed up, and they had a relationship with him.  Leaders KNOW their people.  I once had a staff person share with me that they did NOT feel known by me.  This hurt to hear, but it was true.  It can be hard to live close enough to see the pain, but it’s the only way to be able to enter in.

• Leaders are willing to pay the price.  I am not sure how far they had to carry this man, but just the thought of it sounds hot, sweaty, and tiring.  Leaders care about their people – they are willing to pay the price for the ones that they care about.  It is true, that the need fueled them, but still, it was hard work to accomplish the goal.

• Leaders don’t give up!  There are always going to be obstacles.  There will be people unwilling to move for you – leaders don’t give up!  Leaders just keep changing the route, convincing those around them, and trying new avenues.

• Leaders are willing to make a MESS.  This was a huge mess.  The roof was ruined, the talk Jesus was giving was rudely stopped.  The living room floor was going to need more than a vacuum to clean it up.  This was a huge mess!  A hole in the roof, mud all over the floor, and a program completely ruined!  Yet, a life was changed.  Only in the end do we see this word:  AMAZED.  It was worth the mess.

How about you?  Are you close enough to your people to know what they need?  Are you willing to pay the price?  Are you giving up too soon?  Are you willing to make a mess for a bigger vision?

Leaders know where they are going.  Leaders take people with them.  Leaders see results.  Are you a leader?

Blessings,

Eric