In 1943 a man by the name of Abraham Maslow wrote a paper entitled A Theory of Human Motivation. In this paper Maslow developed a theory known as the hierarchy of needs. It has become perhaps the most popular theory relating to human needs. If you were to take a class or course in the field of psychology this theory would be the first thing that you learn. Maslow’s theory is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels. The lowest level is associated with our physiological needs; that is our need for air, food, water, sleep, etc. Those things which our body naturally needs to stay alive. The next level deals with our need for safety and security. The level above that outlines the need to be loved and to belong through friendships, family and even sexual intimacy. The fourth level speaks to our need to be esteemed and respected by others; to also feel a sense of achievement. The top level Maslow says is our need for self-actualization. It is the realization of one’s own potential and possibilities through a number of motivating factors. While Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good theory, while it outlines the progression that we journey through as human beings and while it presents a very accurate reality, it does not give us all the answers. This colored pyramid does not represent the full picture. In all his research and all his studies Maslow missed the greatest of all human needs. None of these other needs be they met or unmet can match our greatest human need. Even though you may fulfill all these other needs if you miss experiencing the greatest need your life still remains void. So what is that need? What is the greatest human need?
There is a story recorded in the Bible about a paralyzed man who was brought to Jesus by a couple of his friends in hopes that Jesus would heal him. Let’s take a look at this story.
Read Mark 2:1-4
In this passage we find Jesus as we often do throughout the gospel teaching to a crowd of people. The scene is set in a typical ancient Palestinian home with the crowd surrounding Jesus inside home so much so that many were on the outside of the house looking in. It was standing room only. Even if you wanted to get in you couldn’t. Even if you had a ticket to the show, if you got there late you were out of luck. That is the picture that this passage paints for us. As the story continues we are introduced to a man who is paralyzed, he does not have the ability to walk. We don’t know how he became paralyzed. Whether he was born that way or something happened to cause his paralysis. The text does not tell us. All we know is that he is fixed to a bed and as a result of his condition he is at the care of his friends because he cannot take care of himself. Now here is where the story gets interesting. These four friends of the paralytic man decide they are going to bring their friend to Jesus in hopes that Jesus would show compassion towards him and restore his health and his ability to walk. But because the crowd was so thick and there was no way to get into the house from the front door, these guys create their own entrance by tearing off the roof of the house and lowering their friend in the bed right in front of Jesus. It was a desperate situation that called for desperate measures. These four men were going to get their friend to Jesus by any means necessary. There was nothing that was going to stop them from making a path to Jesus.
If you are eager about making a change in your life, if you are fervent about transforming your situation, and if you are passionate about reaching your fullest potential, first of all it can only be done through Jesus Christ working in you. Secondly, don’t let anyone or anything stop you from making a path to Jesus, the one who can change your situation and transform your life. Don’t let denomination affiliation keep you from devotion with God. Don’t let religious traditions keep you from pursuing a relationship with Christ. Don’t let your enemies keep you from experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Don’t let the mess that you’re in now keep you from missing the Messiah. If you are desperate enough you will do anything it takes to get to the one who can change your life. The person that is desperate enough doesn’t care how crazy they may look to others. The person that is desperate enough will take the risk that others won’t. If you are desperate enough you’ll do anything it takes to stop smoking. If you are desperate enough you’ll do anything to let go of the bottle. If you are desperate enough you’ll do anything to get off crack, cocaine, marijuana even prescription medicine. If you are desperate enough you’ll do anything to stop sleeping around with every man or woman you meet. The question is “are you desperate enough?”
Notice how Jesus responds. Read Mark 2:5
Jesus sees the faith of the four friends but speaks directly to the paralyzed man and says that your sins are forgiven. Jesus responds to the faith of these four men. Faith is believing God to do something in your life that you cannot do for yourself. These men believed that Jesus could do something for their friend that they could not and as a result they acted on what they believed. That is why faith is always accompanied by action. But we have a dilemma. If I were one of these four men and I took the time to care enough to bring my friend who is paralyzed, sick, cannot care for himself to someone who I knew could make him better, only to find a house full of people to where there is no entrance and had to create a pathway through the roof just to get him in the house, I would expect something to happen that would cause him to walk and be restored to full health. Not to mention if I were that man fixed to a bed and at the care of my friends or family because I could not care for myself, I would be questioning Jesus. Jesus, how is forgiving my sins going to help me walk? Jesus, how is forgiving my sins going to help me get out of this situation I’m in? How is it going to help me take care of my own self instead of depending on the care of others? That would have been my question.
Although the paralytic and his four friends displayed an unusual faith, what they did not understand was that Jesus was not simple speaking to the man’s physical need to walk when he made the statement “your sins are forgiven.” He was not speaking to the man’s need for full health and strength. Jesus was not speaking to the man’s need to be healed or some supernatural miracle to take place that would change his situation. But Jesus in the authority given to him by God the Father, spoke and responded to the greatest need in man’s life. That is the need for his sins to be forgiven. The need to have his slate wiped clean of past, present and future sins. To have a new life. To be restored in a right relationship with God. Jesus spoke to this need. The need to have his life renewed and to be free from the guilt and shame. But the story continues. And just to prove that he had the power and authority to forgive this man’s sin, Jesus does the miraculous and tells the man to get up, pick up your mat and go home. So Jesus not only restores this man’s physical health and strength but gives him new life through the forgiveness of sins. The miracle is not so much that healed this paralytic man physically and gave him the ability to walk but rather he healed him spiritually and met his greatest need, the need for forgiveness of sin and a new life.
God theory says this: Our greatest human need is not any physical need, not any emotional need, not the need for security or self-esteem but our greatest need as human beings living today is the need for our sins to be forgiven and us to be restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. Our greatest need is not a meal bag full of canned goods, but new life in Christ Jesus. Our greatest need is not a house, a car or any material possessions but rather our greatest need is for a savior and that savior is Jesus the Christ. And because God is God and is able to do all things not only does forgive our sins and wash the slate clean but he is able to remove the effects sin in our life. In other words just like Jesus brought healing to this man’s spiritual life he also brought healing to his physical body so that his entire life was better after he was brought to him, he can make your entire life better as a result of your encountered with him. But it begins with recognizing the greatest need you have is for the forgiveness of sin and restored relationship with the Father.
Sin is what separates us from having an intimate relationship with God the Father. It is what keeps us on one side of the gulf while he remains on the other. And it is impossible for us to bridge that gap no matter what we do or how hard we try. Our goodness will never be enough to bridge the gap. But the good news is that God loves us and wants to be with us. God desires to have that close relationship and fellowship with the ones he created, that’s you and I. So here is what he did. God out of his love for you and I decided that he would bridge the gap and remove the barrier called sin making it possible to be restored in a right relationship with him. Here’s how he did it. God out of his loves for us sent his son Jesus into this world to be the payment for our sins. Nothing we could do or ever do would satisfy the payment for sin. The bible says that Jesus sacrificed his life by dying on the cross for our sins and he was raised from the dead to give us salvation. Now that Jesus, with his life has paid the price for sin and bridged the gap, the only thing that stopping us from having our sins forgiven and a renewed relationship with God is our willingness to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Today you have that opportunity.
