In the Gospel of Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12 is a story titled “Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man.” As ministry veteran Dino Rizzo explains, part includes a passage about how four men came to Jesus carrying a paralyzed man.
They couldn’t get to Jesus, though, because of the crowd of people who had surrounded Him. So, they had to make an opening in a roof to get to Him.
When Jesus saw what they had done just to get the paralyzed man to Him, he saw the faith they were displaying and forgave their sins.
In our everyday lives, we can display similar faith in simple ways by “getting to the roof” and helping others in selfless ways.
It’s called serving, and it’s an essential part of a faithful life that should be practiced all the time.
Be the Friend You’re Searching for First
Many people in life are searching for a friend — someone to talk to, help them with something, or just be there for them. Today, though, people experience failures in friendships where other people let them down, so they’ve stopped trying.
That leads many people to sit back and wait on a friend.
But Dino Rizzo says followers of Jesus need to approach this situation in a different way. Instead of asking, “Why isn’t anybody carrying me?” for instance, you should be the friend you’re searching for to someone else and be it first.
We need to all be carriers, as Dino Rizzo explains, because one day, you’ll need to be carried. In other words, you never know when you might need help, so help someone now who needs it, and your kindness will be recognized by Jesus and returned.
How to Serve by Being a Carrier
Many people believe that in order to serve, they need to do something big, to accomplish a grand gesture, to organize a drive to feed the hungry or house the homeless.
Dino Rizzo, the executive director of ARC (Association of Related Churches), says that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Serving is about doing something for someone else that they may not have expected. It can be big things — like the examples mentioned above –, but it can be small things, too. In fact, the small things you can do for someone else can have a huge impact on their life.
Dino Rizzo says you can be a carrier by doing something as simple as sending a text message to a friend, family member, or colleague who you haven’t spoken to in a while. Check in on them. Say hello. See how they are. Maybe that person was down on their luck and needed the pick-me-up that a friendly message can bring.
You can also include others in activities. Invite someone to a pickleball game who you normally don’t play with, for example. If they don’t know how to play, teach them.
Bring someone flowers. Bring someone a meal. Bring someone a smile.
By serving people and becoming carriers, we can all get to the proverbial “roof” in the gospel of Mark.
About Dino Rizzo
Dino Rizzo, a 35-year ministry veteran, co-founded Healing Place Church with his wife, DeLynn, where he served as senior pastor for two decades. Through his passion for inspiring believers to serve their communities, Dino Rizzo founded Servolution and authored “Serve Your City.” As Executive Director of ARC (Association of Related Churches), Rizzo oversees the planting of over 1,000 churches worldwide and is on the Senior Leadership Team at Church of the Highlands.
