How Far?

Written By: Nancy Purtlebaugh

My husband and I don’t watch many shows on TV. One of the shows we like to watch is Chicago Fire. In the most recent episode there was a dramatic scene where the EMT’s were on the way to the hospital to save a woman, they were keeping her stable on the way-but they had a small window of time to get her there before she was going to die. They were racing there and of course on the way they ran into a traffic jam (because it’s TV they must add an extra layer of drama in an already dramatic situation). Traffic was backed up for miles. So, they had to figure out something quickly. The fire truck came and parked under the overpass and used their ladder to lower the patient down to the fire truck to get her to the hospital and they were able to save her.

While most of us won’t have situations happen like this in real life, I think that there are situations all around us that are even more scary. People without hope. Which is why this episode of the show we were watching made me think of our church and the HOPE FOR EVERYONE movement. How far would you/I be willing to go to bring someone to Hope? Oftentimes we don’t even take the time to invite someone to church, let alone get way outside of our comfort zone and make sacrifices to help bring them to Hope. I am for sure capitalizing that word-Hope. Hope has a name, and His name is Jesus.

This same show/situation made me think of several stories in the Bible, but the one that came to mind first was this one:

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:18-20 (Jesus went on to heal the man physically later in the verse as well.)

The part of the verse that I want to focus on is the friends who took the man to Jesus. They didn’t just tell him about Jesus and wait for him to find his own way, or hopefully for Jesus to come to him. No, they physically carried him on a mat to Jesus. Then when they couldn’t get to Jesus, they tore a hole in the roof to lower him down to Jesus. When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he forgave the man’s sins and healed him.

Friends, how far are you willing to go to help those around you who are hopeless? We have so many opportunities to share Jesus with others. Are you willing to have a conversation? Are you willing to invite someone to church? Are you willing to go out of your way to pick them up? Are you willing to scoot to the middle of your section so there is room for others to sit? Are you willing to change the service you normally go to, to attend the 8am service so there is room in the other services? Are you willing to shift and be flexible in areas of the ministry/ministries you serve in as we are working through this transition? Are you willing to be sacrificially generous so that there is room for others? Believe me, as I am asking you these questions-I am also asking myself these questions. I am continuing to ask God that question that we have been challenged with- “God what do you want to do through me?”

I encourage you to pray that prayer and join in the movement. Can you remember back to a time you needed Hope and someone provided exactly what you needed? Can you remember back to the time before you knew Jesus and what it felt like after you came to know Him? Close your eyes and really remember what that time in your life felt like-the before and after. Now pray that prayer with those thoughts in mind. Be willing to listen and obey. That is what God is asking us to do every day-He wants to work through us if we will just allow Him to.

Are you ready to step forward in faith and watch God do what He does? I am excited to see Him work through us, family! More than we could ask or imagine!

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21