29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Most of the people listed above simply couldn't get to Him on their own. They were crippled, and couldn't walk; they were blind, and couldn't find Him; they were lame, and couldn't make the journey; they were unable to talk, and couldn't ask directions; they were deaf, and couldn't hear where He was.
So friends brought them. Healthy friends, friends who had sympathy and concern for the plight of the sick and suffering.
In a very real sense, this is a parable for today. Many people--many! either cannot get to the Lord, or cannot find Him, or don't even know He's there. You and I--the healthy--are called to bring them to Him, whether for mental healing, physical healing, or spiritual healing. It's not "our job," it's just what friends do when they see people suffering from awful illnesses and problems. If we look at the ministries God has given us as "ours," so that we gloat in our own selection for these ministries, or if we look at them as our "job," we really mistake a large part of what being Christian is; it's me, and you being a friend, and bringing people to the Lord, who can help them. This is not to say that friendship is entirely contained in bringing people to Him, since elsewhere we are all commanded to show kindness and give to people who need our help. Friends help their friends, and friendship is defined by deeds as well as words.
When you bring someone to the Lord, and lay them at His feet because you can do nothing more for them to help them, you do well indeed. In fact, when you bring someone to the Lord, you do the ONE thing for them that they need most--you introduce them to Him, the source of all help.
Someone once said that true Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where the food is. So it is with us. We are like the crippled, lame, blind, deaf, and mute, and all our spiritual health comes from Him. The difference between us and them is just this: we found Him already.
Be a friend. Help someone. Bring them to the Lord.
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