Out Of The Box
“And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” Mark 2:4
Four friends were desperate to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus so that He might heal him. Upon reaching the house where Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of God, they discovered that the crowd was so thick they could not get near Him. At this point they could have responded in multiple ways that would have not produced any results. They could have said, “Woe is us. Others have been healed by Jesus, and we cannot even get near Him?” They could have said, “It’s no use. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. We tried and it did not work so we will have to accept it.” Instead they kept a spirit of determination and began to literally think “outside the box”. The house (box) that Jesus was in was not easily accessible so they thought outside the box. Instead of focusing on the problem they focused on the solution. Instead of thinking of what they could not do, they thought of what they could do. The result was a plan to climb on top of the house and tear an opening in the roof and lower their friend down to Jesus. It was unusual, crazy, even disturbing. But it worked! They got their friend to Jesus and he was healed inside and out. He was forgiven of his sins and healed of his paralysis.
On this trip to Indonesia we have been doing some “out of the box” thinking as well. Instead of going through what might be called “normal” ministry channels, we decided to go straight to the source. My desire was to minister to the poor in the slums of Jakarta and to find schools and orphanages that needed help. Instead of asking church leaders, we asked local people on the street where the poorest areas were. We were brought to some places that were definitely in need and definitely places we never would have come across any other way. For example, we were lead to a school that ended up being all Muslim. Most would think that it would either be impossible or not advisable to walk into a Muslim school right off the street unannounced and do ministry. But we did. We were greeted with love and open arms. We did ministry there and were invited back to build upon the relationships we began. What a blessing!
The next time you set our to do something, don’t just go with the status quo. Take the road less traveled or even carve out a new one. But whatever you do, don’t let obstacles keep you from your goals. Think with faith, creativity and determination. Have an “I will get there” attitude even if you don’t know how. Think outside the box.