How many hours would you stand in line to get free tickets to the Super Bowl? Or how long would you wait on hold to buy tickets to Taylor Swift? I remember waiting in the pouring rain once to watch the Olympic torch pass by -- it was a cool moment, although probably more enjoyable in the sunshine.
The church is very different now -- we don't struggle for lack of access to a church. Most of us don't have to work very hard to find a church nearby. I can look out the front window of my house and see one.
In Jesus' time, the people flocked to him, and they were willing to overcome great obstacles to be in front of him. They had such faith in his power to perform miracles that these friends were willing to climb onto a roof and lower their friend through a newly-cut hole so that he could encounter Jesus. They did serious work so that they could meet Jesus in person.
I heard a pastor say the greatest sin in most of our lives was a lack of enough love for God. I think there's something to that. The degree of our love isn't what saves us -- that's what Christ's work on the cross does, and we can't add to that. But it's easy in America to have such a comfortable faith that we stop pursuing growth in God. I think that's dangerous, for individuals as well as the community of faith. I'm certainly guilty of getting comfortable and lazy at times. So I need to repent for a lack of love for Jesus, and I have much to learn from these friends for their dedication and devotion and belief that the struggle to come before Jesus is entirely worth it.
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