%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 24 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 26 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 21 0 R /GS2 22 0 R /GS3 27 0 R /GS4 28 0 R /GS5 33 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20251010153153+00'00') /ModDate (D:20251010153153+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 16 0 R ] /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1272 >> stream xWMo6ﯘ-ou6P!Ɂ+J%rKRYl~/vHi]Ia@+Q㛙7*bQU (ʒygW,ӛDZW_¦ӈo~۬Z%ErJ4Φߪ`Y@=] /,edYt!5@٘NV `أ6{fWD?cގر9NqQQ6Kl$QG _%pv!Eq'ee5SfxD`>~T{nb@raEY,=<՗>PС>q6 SuHWmzNSt7lw. (EV, j;!*#ɧFT_,; O*GB' PUR2M./ZC:ţ:VK,pcFCѵh~ } !bS.`:u0@Ѹ!~_ X&Q@{H*C^wa`Ǿ 3΢!t*j׸Y:B>VNiR "uA1jl;Fy^Qf{])" mJ\E8jK5*w5j@%7=N:h!GOH+)hBĺ M'[EZk-\Օ\jg [v(4U>> *! z =?"|-q1VO`M 6*4eS EY5APN6Y5:̡nI&La!4fQB!4Qg#6ի)ЮT7W`H67 ' o 3oթ|$[5+qKG)/-9 y? 1֬LBz}C}|3; EKN1w^s٢vt9算I?e2. q ЫNɝ~lAδi;Un'=OQ, )Ҩ|U zۙqQ%_)tz N(ۯ\'23LEj8^8 Iaڭ]%NOvM=y%Cѫ#-zBT zZ{ss}]{aaJggr: E,p8.YaM*w2_]x57qa_9D> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5022>> stream JFIFC    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$}}" 'tG F@dTS1(6ejY+x+$=08TerRuOD- PIwCWa{GˬV%EV5rB_ÚV՜ػǯOY^c(m]_N, &} ?5pl9Yg3Gm$F?uS˜WHmVJ#U^Ɇ@4+즯 s6? tut h= tU@ 3(&tvb&!"12 #0o#΄fB}.pF&?B'nSK;UƁYy-8+>ɭ(Ѓ5?` `Sbpr," !hS~X䱅Az+U_Ӝ1777ѝNҤI-gp2⠹wk50VuG> a%M'>˭#=*Xᛪv޳w|>@?ȟBUV`[ݕ0V5V}t [ ͤch5r儷!s%Y=\p8l.Pɞf;+YS#WXW\V>81ߜ ӟGS(mwW%=/yXw9`zMqrع j &M/$ EsfSmkmS&y#7 L1-EzkwMLAY j>r,Ǹ c"΍iȷnԫV9;CH7݆:S& !A"012QR?`3$j' >Yۛt;I! mO談ʮo=%!N#QLi3 O;$ !1ABQaq?/e^95o*Pjɢs{._#K'yTf خ>1w.O{^lŊ7TSOx>6!1Q"Aaq 3#02BRb$c?{VeH7TC%ܶe%NW;#eˈPe$*l tAY/RТ*DRLG[k|њť٢ax=?Ve6<з`uti k90K X]|63bz/=% W+{.VeS9©집!32{&=WnVNc<;9Mk&s[毆 fZt![E5̦+8Oej?27X}9gIJn:eATwD sݛ*8XRri!b,d\4XxqUu5[:H ڀ r;<յ(y-yJڠ.+#*Q CAMA1@W9Y|)_-s}WS2gUE47ͳ_„2^J`]rvD#EUH*Ua)],]5 &!1AQaq?!1-sPD!HynX-釱!ej[G_*!lxf71^Ϙ9 :O/xaZ,0Ǿ(3Ĥ16>_yAaUUZ.UzmUHW{ yp K~fCp= 7Z0sυĸ1 0'=,>ke07KNjܭ Fl,\$YpN N&  f ;67JWq0VLLАࢻT.?3#3xۈCPю5x&y}⪲~ 'Ȃj'/ 0/P,ؾgB#x 0YUCW'O %b0nh7AX^xuU3u[2sBPMHq2P^+M y~hK YMg(2M6.^:z!y W/AV<ӼJ?hnb\YaaJ_Cm^qVru5j Nmn㳅f@X.@x>' +zWF}-k^wS`۽aNv ~k\%!1Qq Aa?l$l abtw<#[?oEynO=Bt>~mc8 n0/ D̕v`O9$QL8E$!1AQa q?t ._Ba+,azWM2 2d. _%@OI#H cQ :`1A~cj:*; *xA$] 'wErCU[4m%!1AQaq?j02qNw{4ֻW Nt)RLB/!4~/n#Aq35xJ/zn >C;P+qJٷ.mH B3 3=SxDW替?１Bo5c Kdt+*4hC B!kN8e g,RŐwXQN8@~.;1%r닿8Bnшʆ=9;:_s*9%xF=0Tm*@Jdu .<\UxrD(V (P!)FW3d)/=,] <ӜP*:Mt믬 '\] \}3H9qÉ= Wf3x ks'= ?,aH ռ4+us]\?i;% ,tG^A`hQM/>B:׷8Dttt`ȭgj'S~+-B:D՞\hH/\MqY(M0g 0tI=:ʹ̨Y 0UTg.p[Ռ? oh"LvBs7HR 9Iuóx(h2}~1>&OYaBVmہ=36opy -~$V5ML#>;ŗDzIfĥD'ֻe۔NW֛pq{G҃bL } B+AO  !R7}M@wmJ_MFq@6QN\PXDŦ"=W˟ endstream endobj 15 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 17 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 35.0000 535.5950 146.3600 547.8050 ] >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/such-love-part-two/) >> endobj 18 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 19 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 20 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 23 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 31 0 R 35 0 R 37 0 R 39 0 R 41 0 R ] /Contents 25 0 R >> endobj 25 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2569 >> stream xYQ ~_vfÓ(474$ vۛX;B `k/)KOÆm2laǪgjmnuŸ5,kL2b8j׬G`=[cvf ^ {4Oa*sZPZ=}ؙn=^'|t=UA magKcf7=ͧVYɕNz Й:,=8lgnͪG ]ݳgD RnᴤgUC?J`2< ;u;eB4ev./%ZrnMfokI)ٞM9JJdC<-S$S;2%[\9F Hqv qW*0\t>繒qvS=..T\]nLFPaG"iVLAUBrT & pT)@9ғom&nLGp $%y6s0'H\TSK@(Snk|pJ [FXgW-Rfpp-%ETCjCtʶ/ʥL%G# Is]U %Dɳt)bP1׭PLmm2{m ]4P)B^ pzo}]oM?\K;}`?2Y`"BN/&q%nBzjN  {ӍC @k~Զ L+x.:~oh0D+0-0 h 89)gX\+BoW(Kt<5Ḿ77G:TsN8o4'UhH>kܜ=#3gjސsd b qhWM| +##;"DC }67PzE)$.ltZ! Ov$'?j Ǻ!늉UIЍQP #2Z.,t RǪE5=r'C{iL=GGO;]2pbrl4cr~ɰzCYϞճ9 G+Jac4+y-_uIF>OJPkvb;y^ғ-Φ=&Z'D )IO" =PW{hl(݇t#rT>0"BI('gr"#CO(T'd ,zO ͸: 4NӍaӇ;mPPٱWj5{42?hHwoDʀk>TO^$﫺Ûk!J ,ypk! *kON LRҡ7u5wUQm_iK4z2?w{1 T}@\2u4JVJL}[(ƶ6x4ڜ `y DM: endstream endobj 26 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 27 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 29 0 obj [24 0 R /Fit] endobj 30 0 obj [24 0 R /Fit] endobj 31 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 32 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 116.3840 400.9490 201.7520 413.1590 ] >> endobj 32 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/subscribe/) >> endobj 33 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.67 >> endobj 34 0 obj [24 0 R /Fit] endobj 35 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 36 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 398.4680 275.5730 514.4960 287.7830 ] >> endobj 36 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/study/) >> endobj 37 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 38 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 91.0040 260.9210 250.3880 273.1310 ] >> endobj 38 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://westernusa.salvationarmy.org/usw_thq/location_search/) >> endobj 39 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 40 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 246.2690 146.3720 258.4790 ] >> endobj 40 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://give-usw.salvationarmy.org/give/229662/#!/donation/checkout) >> endobj 41 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 42 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 329.8040 202.3130 475.8560 214.5230 ] >> endobj 42 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://course.caringmagazine.org) >> endobj xref 0 43 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000440 00000 n 0000000477 00000 n 0000000626 00000 n 0000000748 00000 n 0000002093 00000 n 0000002200 00000 n 0000002308 00000 n 0000002418 00000 n 0000002531 00000 n 0000002651 00000 n 0000002680 00000 n 0000007870 00000 n 0000007899 00000 n 0000008032 00000 n 0000008130 00000 n 0000008159 00000 n 0000008188 00000 n 0000008217 00000 n 0000008276 00000 n 0000008335 00000 n 0000008364 00000 n 0000008516 00000 n 0000011159 00000 n 0000011275 00000 n 0000011332 00000 n 0000011389 00000 n 0000011419 00000 n 0000011449 00000 n 0000011583 00000 n 0000011672 00000 n 0000011732 00000 n 0000011762 00000 n 0000011896 00000 n 0000011981 00000 n 0000012114 00000 n 0000012227 00000 n 0000012360 00000 n 0000012479 00000 n 0000012613 00000 n trailer << /Size 43 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 12698 %%EOF Such love: Part Three | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Female Friends with Arms Around Each Other Walking Through Flower Field

Such love: Part Three

byMartin Hunt
September 18, 2019
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

The power of friendship from three perspectives

A Scripture study from Caring, part three of three.

Read part two here.

Part 3: The Paralyzed Man’s Friends

Behind the scenes

Read what Scripture says in Mark 2. 

Beyond the surface

The miraculous story of healing found in Mark 2 not only shows us the power of Jesus to help the most unloved in society, but teaches us how we should live in the service of others. 

The paralyzed man’s friends cared enough to do the difficult, the unusual—as I’m pretty sure it was not a common thing to go to someone else’s house and dismantle the roof!

Think about it. When they arrived on the roof (of course, they didn’t bring their tools with them), they were likely met by layers and layers of sticks and clay. To make the hole, they likely used the only tools they had: their bare hands.

I imagine their hands scratched and bleeding, with dirt under the nails, sweat pouring down their brows. These friends were not going to be denied. They were going to get their friend to Jesus!

It was a real commitment to dig into some stranger’s roof and make a man-sized hole in it. Such was their love for their friend and confidence in Jesus’ power and willingness to help that the paralyzed man’s friends were willing to interrupt Jesus’s discussions with the local theologians by coming through the roof.

They knew what was needed: healing power.

Once the hole was made, they then had to lean over the hole and lower him down. It would have been back-breaking. They had to have equal, synchronized strength to avoid letting him fall or to fall in themselves. 

These friends’ faith was so strong. They took serious risks, all to lay someone at the feet of Jesus. I’m pretty sure they had not met Jesus themselves, but they had heard about his power and his divinity and just knew they had to do everything for their friend. 

Between the lines

  • How far are you willing to trudge, to carry, to lift, to strain your back, to bring yourself close to utter exhaustion to bring someone else to the feet of Jesus?
  • Who are the outcasts in your life? Are you willing to be a friend to them?
  • Do you have passion to get your friends and family, and the people you see on our streets to the feet of Jesus? Are you too willing to give up?

Pray

Pray that you have the strength and conviction of the friends who did everything to bring the paralyzed man into the presence of the Lord.

Sign up for the Do Good Digest, our weekly newsletter, and stay tuned next month for a new study.

 

Do Good: 

  • Download the full study and find more like it from Caring in the Scripture study library.
  • Visit westernusa.salvationarmy.org to find The Salvation Army nearest you. 
  • Give to support the fight for good in your community.
  • Do you have a hard time telling people what you do, or what you’re passionate about and why? Ever stared at a blinking cursor, unsure of what to say or where to start? Or do you avoid writing altogether because you’re “not creative enough”? Take our free email course and find your story today.
Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like