While studying the events of the paralyzed man being healed, I noticed a few things. I noticed how being healed is also being forgiven. For when certain of the scribes thought within themselves why does this man speak such blasphemies, who can forgive sins but God only? Jesus perceived in His spirit what they were reasoning in themselves and He answered them, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts?” “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?” Mark 2:8-9 KJV This tells me when Jesus says “thy sins be forgiven thee” or “Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk” He wasn’t just forgiving sins or just healing a physical disease but He was completely making a person whole, body mind and soul. To be forgiven is to be healed, and to be healed is to be forgiven. What about when we hold onto part of our physical ailment or hold onto part of our sin?
The next thing I noticed was the faith of the men who carried the paralyzed man. Jesus noticed the men’s faith to bring this man before Him and be healed. But I wonder where is our faith? These men did absolutely everything they could to get this man in front of Jesus. When they got to the house where Jesus was preaching, they saw that the house was so full that no one else could get inside. The door was even blocked because of the amount of people. These men didn’t just lay him outside and say, when Jesus comes out get His attention so you can be healed. They didn’t just give up on him. They didn’t just leave it to him to make sure he got there. They went the extra mile and tore open the roof! Then they lowered him down into the house placing him before Jesus. No matter how long it would take them they worked until they got him right in front of Jesus. These men delivered him to Jesus not only because they knew Jesus could heal him but because they knew that Jesus was the answer to what he needed. We don’t know if this man was a friend, a family member, a neighbor, someone they passed by daily begging for alms or a complete stranger to them. It didn’t seem to matter to them they were going to get this man in front of Jesus. Where is our faith! Do we do all we can, go the extra mile and put people right in front of Jesus or at His feet? How many of us witness to this point, how many of us carry someone to Jesus, tear open the roof and lower people down to place them in front of Jesus? How often do we go to the altar taking the lost, the hurting, the stranger to Jesus? How often do we invite people to church, to singings, to our homes to talk with them, doing all we can to place them before Jesus? Obviously not enough as we can tell by the shape our society is in.
Lord Jesus, please forgive me for falling so short, for not tearing open the roof for anyone and everyone. Forgive me for not having such faith that I do all I can, for doing so little and for not being so diligent to help others. Because there was a day when others were that diligent for me. I can see that it is past time to tear open the roof and to lower as many as I can down in front of You.