Accept One Another: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

He Ain't Heavy; He's My Friend

Video gamers pay a lot of attention to POV. That stands for "point of view," and it refers to the viewpoint and angle at which you want to see the action in your game. Do you want to see things at ground level through the eyes of your character, or do you want to hover above and get the big picture?

You may be familiar with the amazing story of Jesus' healing of a totally paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof of a house where Jesus was teaching. Your POV in the story may be in the audience, watching the Son of God display his mastery over disease and injury. Or maybe you imagine yourself jumping with joy and running around as the ex-paralytic.

Here’s my POV: "Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus" (Luke 5:18). My heroes in this story are the friends who loved this man enough to carry him around, and, failing to get into the house where Jesus was, hauled him up to the flat roof. They actually made a hole in the roof big enough to drop a man through and lowered him with ropes. Their faith and determination were rewarded by seeing God in action and their friend healed. Would you have done that?