Together

1 Cor.3:⁸ “The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.”

Compassion. Faith. Action. Persistence. Creativity. Our sixth lesson from Mark 2:1-12 is Cooperation. The four friends of the paralyzed man worked together. Luke 5:¹⁹ “…they went up on the roof and lowered the man on his mat through the ceiling into the middle of the crowd.” (NCV, emphasis added). The Voice translation puts it this way, “…they climbed up on the roof and pulled off some roof tiles. Then they lowered the man by ropes so he came to rest right in front of Jesus.” [emphasis added]. And the Passion Translation puts it this way, “…they crawled onto the roof, dug their way through the roof tiles, and lowered the man, stretcher and all, into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” Four men on one project? Believe me, there would be one that will say, why should we go through the roof? I am afraid of heights. Another would say, you want to destroy someone else’s roof? That is disorder; we have to be civilized.

Yet these four men cooperated and lowered their friend successfully. One of them would have mapped out what they needed to do, and another would have supported him. Then together, they will get the buy-in of the other two. That is how men are. Four men cooperated on a mission, which is abnormal. It is your move; you need to learn how to cooperate. A lot of people do not know how to cooperate. It is either their way or the highway. People can be very selfish. Interestingly, some couples do not want to cooperate [to work together] on anything. People are on projects, but they do not want to cooperate and work as a team. But these men cooperated, they lowered their friend by ropes, and they had to do it in sync. What would have happened if while they were lowering their friend, and one let go? Their hearts, their rhythm, their timing had to be in sync. It is easier to get four women to do this kind of thing, believe me. Women are more amiable and compassionate. If you notice, Jesus’ disciples were not all men. The people who really made things work were the women in the background.

Even when Jesus resurrected, who would believe that story? The women. You have to learn cooperation. Ex.31:^{1-3 &6} “The Lord spoke to Moses:  See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:  and I have filled him with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, … “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant.” What is happening here? God says, Moses, you are the leader, but I have chosen Bezalel to work with you. I have also chosen Oholiab to work with Bezalel. You all have to cooperate. Moses alone could not do the work. Bezalel alone could not do the work. Oholiab alone could not do the work. Bezalel did not challenge Moses and Oholiab did not challenge Bezalel. They maintained their chain and cooperated. We are better together.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to show compassion, have faith, take action, be persistent, be creative and cooperate in my relationships, in Jesus Name. Amen!