Getting dragged to Jesus' feet.

Nothing like a little Spike-ball to start the day!

It was another great morning at Founders! It was our second Friday @ Founders of the school year, and we had a blast hanging out, eating doughnuts, playing games, and then hearing about Jesus.

Getting ready for Paper Rock Scissors 

Grant created an epic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Everyone paired up, and played. The loser would have to crawl under the legs of the winner and then grab their shoulders and make a train behind them. This would continue until there was only one train left, and one person who was the supreme champion.

The two final trains battle

Games are an important part of WyldLife. We come up with these games to tear down walls and help kids have fun, without any expectation of performance, and without any pressure. The games we play help kids realize that they matter, and that we care about them. They help kids begin to open up and feel like WyldLife is a place where they can be themselves.

Grant sharing some stories

After the game we all gathered back at the picnic tables and Grant shared about a time when a man was dragged to Jesus' feet by his friends.

Grant opened up by asking if anyone had ever been dragged somewhere they didn't want to go. He shared about a time when his mom "dragged" him to Lost Canyon, a Young Life camp in Northern Arizona. He did not want to go, but his mom signed him up, and then got him on the bus.

It ended up being the best week of his life, and he was never the same after.

This person who was dragged in front of Jesus had a similar story. While the Bible never makes it known if this man wanted to go or not, he was a quadriplegic, so he was literally dragged to Jesus' feet.

There was a large crowd where Jesus was teaching, and because they could not get into the room, they when to the roof and dug a hole through it in order to lower their friend in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw this man come down in front of him, he didn't get upset, he didn't get frustrated with the people digging a hole and disrupting his sermon. He saw the man. 

The Bible tells us that Jesus saw the faith of the friends, and then said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

Friend. What a powerful word. 

Jesus called this man friend, and then forgave his sins. I'm guessing that the friends were expecting more, but Jesus knew what was at the heart of the matter. The religious people in the room got very upset. They knew that no one could forgive sins like that except for God, and Jesus was just a man, at least that's what they thought they knew. 

In order to prove that he had the power to forgive sins, Jesus also healed the man. He restored the man and the man got up, took his mat, and walked home. Like Grant, this man left the place he was dragged to as a different man, never to be the same again. 

Grant pointed out two things here.

1. Jesus looks at what is on the inside before seeing what is on the outside. Jesus forgave this man's sin first, then addressed the problem that everyone else saw. When Jesus looks at each of our middle school friends, he doesn't see what everyone else sees. Jesus looks deeper. He sees kids who need unconditional love and acceptance, kids who need to know they are accepted just the way they are. Its the same with each of us. Jesus looks on the inside, is quick to forgive, and loves us the way we are, not the way we think we should be.

2. Sometimes we need friends to get us to where we need to be. This man would not have had this encounter with Jesus if his friends didn't drag him to Jesus' feet. Grant may not have come to be a WyldLife leader, or know the depths of Jesus' love, if his mom had not drug him to Young Life camp. Sometimes we need other people to get us to where we need to be. 

Going for a world record!