MARK 2:4-5
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
TO PONDER
This has always been a compelling and confronting healing story for me. In many of the stories of Jesus miraculous healings, people come to him or call out to Jesus asking him to heal them. They do this themselves, they demonstrate their faith and trust in Jesus ability and willingness to heal them, but this story is different.
In this story, Jesus sees the faith of the paralysed man's friends and that seems to be, at least in part, what prompts Jesus to proclaim forgiveness of the paralysed man's sin and also restore his body.
It just makes me wonder sometimes whether my faith is something that has been obvious enough to bring others to an encounter with Jesus where they find the forgiveness of their sins and healing for their body, mind, and soul? Too often we think of faith as a private thing, as something just between ourselves and God. There is some element of truth to that, faith in Jesus does lead to a personal relationship with him. However, when Jesus left his disciples to ascend into heaven, he did not leave them with the command to keep all they had seen to themselves, they were to take what they had seen and believed and proclaim it to all the world so that others might also come to know Jesus as the son of God and their personal Lord and saviour.
Justification, or salvation through Christ's death and resurrection is a free gift for those whose faith and trust is in Jesus, a free gift to each of us from a loving Heavenly Father. However, the faith that recognises Jesus as Lord, is not just a gift to those who have that faith, it is also a gift to the rest of the world; one of the ways that others are drawn into an encounter with Jesus. Your faith is a gift to the world, one that is supposed to be shared and used to bring others to Jesus so that they too might have life and faith in him.
Don't let your faith only be a private thing. Live it, share it, and grow it, so that by it, others may find the forgiveness and healing of a life lived in Christ.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that you forgive my sins and have restored me to a right relationship with you. Please help me to live my faith each day in such a way that you can use it to bring others to you and find life and forgiveness in your name, Amen.
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle