Do You Have Stick-Your-Neck-Out Faith?

Think about a time when you really stuck your neck out on the line. When was a time you believed in something so much that you did all you could to recruit to the cause?

It could be that weekend trip that you are trying feverishly get your buddies to skip class to go on. It could be that beautiful gal or cute boy that you want to go on a date with you. It could be a cause to save millions of lives and you just need people to donate money. When you really want something, you will stick your neck out and do what it takes.

But what does this look like in the Christian faith? What does “stick-your-neck-out faith" look like when it comes to Jesus?

Through the Roof

Mark 2:1-11 is a perfect story. Jesus was preaching inside a packed house when four men arrived carrying a paralyzed guy. They wanted to get him to Jesus, but the crowd was full and there was no room. Were they deterred? No, they climbed onto the roof, busted a hole in it, and lowered the guy down. Jesus did something remarkable. Verse 5 says, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"

Jesus moved because of the friends. Not because of the paralyzed guy. Jesus forgave this man of his sins and ended up physically healing him later. Why? Because the friends had faith—faith that caused Jesus to move.

What about the people around you? There are people around you who are literally sick and in need of a touch from God. What is it that will cause you to act and carry them to Jesus for a touch? There are people around you who aren’t literally sick, but they are paralyzed spiritually. They are wounded by the church, and won’t go in. They want to make a move towards Jesus, but they are stuck, they don’t know how to take the first step.

So what is it going to take? How can you be like these four men? More importantly, what was it about these four men that caused them to climb a roof and break in?

Burden + Belief = Boldness

These guys had the incredible burden that their friend was not okay. They didn’t just overlook him and say, “Oh well, he will be fine,” or “I hope one day he gets better.” No. They took the burden on themselves and had the internal conviction that this man's condition was not okay and they needed to carry him to Jesus.

But they also had an incredible belief in Jesus. There is no way they would have carried their friend to Jesus if they didn’t really believe he could heal. Even if they had an incredible burden for their friend, they would not have burst through the crowd, climbed a roof, and broke in without incredible belief that Jesus was the answer.

Friends, if we want to be people of faith, and action, then we need to be people with incredible burden for our friends and belief in Jesus. One without out the other will still leave you action-less.

How are you cultivating both burden and belief in your life? How does your burden for hurting people need to grow? How does your belief in Jesus as a healer need to grow? Share in a comment below.

This article was adapted from the original post on Beau Crosetto’s blog, Release the Ape.