“So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them.” – Mark 2:2
I have a question for you. How do we love much and serve the God who saved us? We can start by looking at a story in God’s word that is recorded in three of the four gospels.
Mark 2:1 tells it this way, “When he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that he was at home.” For this season in Jesus’ life, this is where Jesus called home. In fact, the house this refers to is Peter’s mother-in-law’s house, the home where Peter and Andrew lived.
This house wasn’t very large. It only had a couple of rooms, separated by rock walls. Archeologists have also revealed that at the very center of the house, there was sort of a living room, a gathering space where people could congregate.
Verse 2 says, “So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them.” That word “speaking” or “preaching” here is literally translated to mean “conversational speaking,” so you can imagine Jesus in the center of the house, packed in this room with people all around Him, and He’s speaking conversationally about the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.
This chapter goes on to tell a story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. This is something we will discuss more tomorrow, but what can be missed in just the very beginning is the example Jesus sets of simply having conversations. We raised the question at the beginning, how can we love much and serve God?
We can “love much” by simply having conversations and speaking with others. Hearing them, truly listening to what they are saying, and then speaking back. These conversations build connections and relationships that will show us how we can serve others.
And when we serve others, we are serving Christ. We will look at how we can love others and serve Christ, but it starts with this simple idea of “conversational speaking.” You never know how just talking to someone will change the course of their day or even their life!