"And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” (Mark 2:1-4)

Yesterday, we were reminded that we have been made alive in Christ so that we can be zealous of good works. Our zeal should be through the roof!

Our personal zeal to be close to Jesus should also encourage us to help others. Did you notice that even if the man with palsy wanted to get to Jesus there was no way he could? It took the compassion, devotion, action, and zeal of four friends to get him there!

These four friends knew what their sick friend needed and they were not going to let anything stop them from getting him the help he needed.

Our duty as disciples of Jesus should follow this pattern. We know that we cannot make someone a child of God, but we CAN recognize one His children that is in need. When we see someone weighed down by sin or illness, we should point them toward Jesus and His church for help.

We are all familiar with the six cities of refuge set up in the promised land for the children of Israel. These cities were set up so that a person who committed a crime could run and hide from the avenger of blood. The duty of those around that person was to point him to the nearest city of refuge.

That is our duty as well. When we see someone who has conviction of sin (an obvious sign of the new birth), we should point him to Christ, the only refuge for sinners!