FAITH TAKES THE ROOF OFF
Gospel truth is
in harmony and accord with the truth of creation. It is the God of Creation who
saves us because we are part of Creation. He makes no distinctions between
nature and spirit. He saves us where we are and what we are, covering the whole
scene. The Word of the Gospel is physical-spiritual power. Unbelief shuts the
door on God. Jesus saves PEOPLE, people with feelings, physical and
psychological. Jesus saves human beings of flesh and blood, not ghosts. Turning to Luke 5:17 it says that where this miracle
took place, ‘the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” It is
tragic that the only person healed had to be let in from the roof, nobody else,
yet the house was full and surrounded by people, no doubt most of them sick.
The religionists were there but did nothing for them, neither cleansing nor
healing. Hundreds of churches are in that state. People come to worship God as
if He listened to the prayers and songs and just sat on the throne. Nothing is expected
to happen except in some spiritual sense that singing and praying they suppose
will do them good. I hope it does, but where is the response from God? The
routine goes on week by week, nothing happens, and nothing is preached for
things to happen. Jesus is distant, invited, but belongs only a spiritual
dimension not the real world. A manifestation of His presence would be too
disturbing of dignity and order. To such a gathering of listeners the four men
came and took the roof off. That is typical. New Testament Christian faith is
dynamic – it takes the roof off! Try it by trusting God. Yes, in your very
situation..
Christianity has an unconditional
‘welcome’ above its doors for the storm tossed, the broken in spirit, and the
inadequate. It is the arm of God’s love thrown around those who have given up
on themselves, or been given up by the world, and have not got what it takes.
If you would believe you would see the glory of God (John 11:40). Christ can
make us – we who otherwise would never make it. In the Gospels, we see Him
coming open-faced and open‑armed. To Him, there were no nobodies, nor riffraff,
no social rejects. He came for lost sheep. To women, who were treated as
subspecies in some eastern countries, even as they are now, Christ gave honor.
Jesus said, “I always do those things that please Him [the Father]” (John
8:29). What had He seen the Father do? He had seen Him stoop over the wretched
tribes in Egypt. Those Israelite‑nobodies, expendables, God picked up and made
them great. Jesus did the same. He chose fishermen, not princes, to be His
ambassadors. The Gospels again and again show Him meeting the unwanted, and
giving them a place. His outreach to the discarded is a moving part of the
Gospel story. Jesus is with the ‘lost’ and the ‘last.’ The lost He finds, and
to the last he says, “The last will be first” (Matthew 20:16
