"This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" Mark 2 : 12 b
"When was the last time you were in the gospel?" This was the question asked of us on Tuesday. And it's not asking when was the last time we read the gospel; it's asking when was the last time we LIVED the gospel.
Mark 2 is a gospel story. In this story a group of 4 friends carry their paralyzed friend to the house they knew Jesus was at. But this house was so crowded, there was no room for them. Being as determined as they were, they carried their friend onto the top of the roof, broke a hole into the ceiling of the house, and lowered their friend in. When Jesus saw this, he noticed all of their faith, he noticed the community effort, and healed the man.
To us right now, this is just a story. But to the friends carrying the paralyzed man, this was no ordinary story. The story never grows old when you are participating! I'm sure they went around telling everyone about how amazing it was to be the community surrounding the man that was healed by Jesus.
But this doesn't have to be a story for us, in fact there are stories from all over from people that experienced Mark 2 in their life. They can explain the details that made the story so amazing. They know all about the blisters you get from carrying a friend to Jesus, they know how hard it is to break through the roof, they can describe the faces below when they lowered their friend down.
This is my dream for us. I want us to be able to talk about Mark 2 in first person! I want us to have stories from the proxe; stories where Jesus jumped off the page and the person you would last expect got to truly encounter Jesus and their life was transformed. I want stories from Fall Conference; stories about our hesitant friends that didn't want to come and didn't expect anything to happen, and then Jesus showed up!
It's amazing to be part of the community helping a friend, but it is also amazing to be the one transformed by Jesus. I can tell Mark 2 in first person in this way. Last year I was able to experience what it felt like to have a friend come alongside me and bring me to Jesus. It never gets old for me to tell that story because my heart and life were transformed in a way that I expected. It's never boring to live inside the gospel.
There are several challenges and opportunities for you to live in the gospel coming up. I would encourage you to ask friends to take you to Jesus. Allowing yourself to break down and tell friends that you are sick and need Jesus' forgiveness can change your life in ways you never expected. I know first hand how amazing and transformative that can be and I desire for all of you to experience that as well.
Another opportunity is for you to move towards Jesus with a group of friends and go to Fall Conference in a couple of weeks. As that community pursuing Jesus, would you reach out to friends that you know need to experience the love and grace of Jesus and would you commit to taking them to Fall Conference? Take them with your community so all of you can encounter Jesus. Hurry up and register! Registration closes at midnight tonight!
And lastly, we are doing a proxe station next week to step out and share our faith. This is giving us the opportunity to live inside of Mark 2 by having authentic conversations with friends on campus and introducing them to the one that can satisfy all of our thirsts, Jesus. This proxe has provided hundreds of students across the region with the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus, and 28 have chosen to accept the grace and love Jesus! We could have these stories too!!!
Going to Fall Conference and participating in the proxe station are both big risks, but living in the gospel is never boring. They are both ways to live out our faith in a real tangible way and I challenge you to do it with me!
How are you going to live in the gospel?
