Mark 2:2-4 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
I hate being late for anything. If I have an appointment somewhere I always want to be early, if I’m not early, I feel like I am late. To be honest with you I don’t have a lot of patience with people that are late. Time is valuable!! I really used to get aggravated with doctors who did not value my time as much as theirs…well truth be know I still get aggravated by that. However, as I read this passage God convicted me about my harsh attitude toward people that are late.
In the account of the miracle Jesus did on the man that was crippled, he and his friends arrived late to the place where Jesus was teaching and preaching. The crowd was so large that they couldn’t get to Jesus. They wouldn’t just turn and head back home, but climbed on the roof and let their friend down through a hole that they opened up in the tiling and lowered him into the room where Jesus was. The results were amazing, Jesus healed their friend and they walked home together.
The conviction came to my heart when I thought about the reason these men were late to the meeting. Wasn’t it because they were carrying their friend? I mean all the others were able to run to see Jesus, these four men wanted to get their friend to Christ, but the burden was heavy. The conviction comes when I think that the reason some people are late for church or some other event is because of the burdens they are carrying. It is not that they don’t value my time or have a character flaw, it maybe that it took all the energy they had just to get out of bed. They don’t intend on being late or inconveniencing me, it is just plain hard for them to get moving. I need to work on replacing my impatience with some grace. We don’t know what kind or the size of a burden someone may be carrying today.
I know I will struggle with those that are habitually late…for everything. But, may the Lord help all of us to realize there may be a legitimate reason for some that we think are not respecting our time.
May the Lord help us be gracious today!