Faith in Practice – 2026
Day 3: Help or Hinder?
Mark 2:4 (NRSV) – And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
Inspiring Quotes:
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama
“Helping those in need is not only part of one’s duty, but of one’s happiness.” – José Martí
I imagine the people inside the room with Jesus were pretty excited to be so close to him. Maybe it felt like being on a standby list at the airport and hearing your name called to board the plane.
But those who were closest to Jesus were actually keeping others from Jesus.
Who knows why? Maybe they got up earlier and waited longer. Maybe they knew somebody who knew somebody. Maybe they thought they were more important than those outside. Maybe some of the people outside weren’t from their community or region. Whether they realized it or not, they were blocking others from getting to Jesus.
Fortunately, the paralytic’s friends were not deterred. They were determined to get their buddy to Jesus no matter what it took. We’re not sure who owned the house, but I’m guessing they weren’t thrilled about the new skylight in their living room!
So the question for us is simple: Are we helping or hindering?
Let me close with another powerful story.
Early in the day, a mother carried her 10-year-old son to the village clinic. I saw him in triage, where they determine which clinic patients should visit. I mentioned to the FIP worker, “Wheelchair, right?” She agreed. This poor mom has had to carry her son everywhere.
Later that morning I saw them outside the Mobility Clinic. The boy has cerebral palsy and was struggling just to sit while waiting in line. Finally, it was his turn to receive a special wheelchair when I noticed an intense conversation between the mother and Jackie, our Guatemalan co-wheelchair assembler.
Still glowing from Sarita’s beautiful moment earlier in the day, I went to lunch.
Then Melissa came down with some difficult news. The mother had told the worker she had to be on the bus by noon. She and her son had left without receiving the wheelchair.
Are you kidding me?
The one child who might have needed a wheelchair more than anyone else had to leave without one. Processing hundreds of patients takes time, and normally it’s first-come, first-served. But unintentionally, we had kept this young boy from receiving a life-transforming gift.
I was saddened, frustrated, and ticked off (that’s minister talk for really upset). How could we let that happen? Sometimes we are simply unaware of the difficult circumstances people are facing.
When I returned to the wheelchair assembly room, I heard some good news.
Jackie climbed onto the roof, dug a hole big enough so the 10-year-old boy could meet Jesus.
Whoops—wrong story.
What Jackie actually did was talk to the spouse of the FIP Network Director, Juan de la Cruz. Together they arranged for someone to find the boy and his mother, bring them back to the clinic, give him the wheelchair, and even provide a place for them to stay overnight.
Jackie made a way when there was no way.
That’s Roof-Diggin’ 101.
Our world needs more roof-diggers!
I want to be a roof-digger.
How about you?
