I was reading in the book of Mark the other day. In chapter 2, the writer retells the time when four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They were hoping that Jesus would heal their friend. But unfortunately, because there was such a large crowd around Jesus, they couldn’t get their friend to Him.If I was one of those four men, the story probably would have ended right there. I would have been saying, “Well there’s no way to get in, so let’s just go home. If it was God’s will to see Jesus, He would have removed the barriers and we would have a clear path to Jesus.”
Thankfully for the paralyzed man, his friends didn’t give up as easily as I would have. They thought outside of the box. They decided to break the rules. They made a hole in the roof of the building that Jesus was in and lowered their friend down in front of Jesus.
Wow! The friends saw a barrier and went right around it. They loved their friend so much they didn’t let a minor obstacle stop them. I wish I would think more like that. I’m a “by the book” type of guy. I like following the rules and doing things the established way. But I think God’s been telling me that I need to think outside of the box. When obstacles come my way, maybe I need to look harder for a different solution. Sometimes I will need to break the rules and do things in a new way.
How about you? Are you the type that is always thinking outside of the box? Do you not even see a box? Or are you like me? One who likes to follow the rules? Do you have suggestions for how I can be more like the four friends? Let me know your thoughts.
I am so far outside the box that I get back into it accidently.
How do you consistently stay out of the box?