What is the greatest need?

Leah, Bobbi, Rinnah, and I (oh, and Eben, too!) got to go to Joyful Noise, a local Christian music festival. We only had tickets for one of the two days, but that was plenty. Bobbi got in free as a "graduating senior" and Eben did, too. (Well, got in free, that is. NOT as a graduating senior!) We got another free ticket through Hope Kids, and that made the day as a whole a relatively cost-effective "girls' day out" excursion.

Bobbi has noticed that being in a wheelchair makes you stick out, and as a result, we sometimes get to meet a variety of new people at events like this!

In particular, Bobbi had two different people ask to pray for her over the course of the day. Their dramatically different perspectives got me thinking. But first, I think, I want to share this from Mark 2:1-12.

And when [Jesus] returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.  And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.  And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,  “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—  “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Here's what always gets me about this encounter: Jesus looks at that man and sees that this man has a big problem - and it's one that he can fix. What is the problem he sees?? Well, this man has sin in his life that, left unforgiven, is going to have seriously negative and long lasting (eternal!) consequences! And there's not a single thing that poor man, or anyone else, for that matter, can do about it! Jesus looks at that man lying before him, does a triage of the situation, and heads straight for the main deal. Son, your sins are forgiven.

Now right off hand, I'm guessing that isn't what his friends were thinking about when they brought their friend to Jesus for help. We know it wasn't what those standing around were anticipating, either. But it IS what Jesus saw as this man's greatest need, and the one that he addressed first. The healing of his paralysis? That wasn't so much for the man himself (though he certainly was glad for it, I would guess!) as it was for those standing around watching. Jesus tells us that the reason that man was healed physically was so that we may know that Jesus really does have the authority to take care of our real problem.

So, then, let's circle back to our day at the concert. We chatted with a variety of people over the course of the day. Two of those encounters involved someone asking if they could pray for Bobbi. What happened in each of those encounters provided a striking contrast, and, I think, one that could inform the way we pray for the people around us.

The first went like this: With the motley crew of concert goers in our little party...

Newboys United cardboard cutouts!

...a graduating senior, a fledgling almost-teenager, a solid elementary schooler, and an under-one. Oh yes, and a 40-year-old mother, too, so we had a variety of different concert-enjoying preferences. We started out the day up in the bleachers, but as the day moved on and the concerts became more engaging to our older two, moving closer in to the action was an engaging option. We used the 30-40 minutes between concert when people were moving around to get Bobbi a spot RIGHT up next to the fence in the "standing only" section, and that's where she stayed for the rest of the night! Rinnah, Eben, and I went back up to the bleachers, and Leah alternated back and forth. Between sets we'd all congregate together by Bobbi, and that's where we had our first conversation.

A man, maybe in his early 50s, meandered over, introduced himself, and we started chatting a bit. He was there with his family, and enjoying the down time to meet new people. He'd recently quit his job to go back to school to become a pastor. A few minutes in, he asked Bobbi if he could pray for her specifically, and for us as her family in general. And I loved this: so simple, but he asked her what he could pray for. Her answer? Right on - she was nervous about starting her new job (nine days until her first day) - her first job ever!! She asked him to pray about her tendency toward anger, and a few other things. We prayed together, chatted a few minutes, and then he rejoined his wife and daughter as we got settled in to prepare for the next concert.

The second encounter happened as we were making our way out to the van after the concert. Eben finally fell asleep about an hour into the Newboys' concert and was completely, totally zonked out in the baby carrier. Rinnah and I found Bobbi and Leah, and began the arduous task of pushing the wheelchair across the astroturf. If you've never tried this, you don't know what you're missing! We were joined by another family, and the dad muscled her across the field for me. Right after we made it onto the dirt and started getting close to the gate, we were approached by another person. This man came to me, asked if he could pray for Bobbi, and I gestured her way - she can answer for herself! Without any more conversation, he asked her why she was in the wheelchair, she answered "cerebral palsy" and he begins praying that her cerebral palsy would go away. She gave me a patient, slightly amused smile (how that girl has matured!), then he gave her a pat on the shoulder and he was gone into the crowd.

I can't help but think of these two well-meaning men in the context of the Man, Jesus. What is Bobbi's greatest need? Where does SHE know that she needs the most help? She knows: it's not her legs. Yes, it would be great to be able to walk, and to use her arms, but when someone took the time to ask her, she knows that her greatest need is not outward, but inward.

So I write this as a reminder to me, and also to anyone listening: let us not presume to know more than we do. Let us not get so distracted by the outward appearance of things that we miss the true heart of the matter. Let's not forget that we serve a God who does heal the sick and the broken in spirit and in body, but let us also remember that when he was here on this earth, he did not leave the whole region of Galilee free of all disease, blindness, lameness, you-name-your-disability, but he did leave the whole region and the whole world both then and now with a way out of the biggest problem any one of us faces, and that, I hope, ought to help us appropriately triage the situations that face us every day. Don't neglect the small problems, but don't confuse them with the Big one.

Oh, and I should mention, too, that one of the perks of being right up front is you can share your bag of kettle corn with Matthew West!