"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." Mark 2:4-5
Two thoughts came into my mind regarding these verses. The fist thought is that these people were doing everything possible to have contact with Jesus. They didn't just walk down the block to see Him, many travelled from the surrounding towns. With the crowds being too large for the paralyzed man to get close enough, they brought him to the roof top and dug a hole so they could lower him down to Jesus. The people were not going to let anything get in there way of seeing Jesus to receive healing.
This caused me to ponder whether I have that determination? I have my typical aches and pains as I continue to age. I've seen my parents become more and more fragile with their older age. I know of people experiencing unexpected illness or loss, at an age that would be too young in my mind for someone to have to go through. I bring these requests, and others, to God knowing He hears my prayers. But then what.........Am I persistent in my prayers? Do I expect my prayers to be answered, or do I pray with uncertainty? Do I continue to "dig" so that I am able to connect with Jesus? Or do I allow my daily schedule to hinder the time and energy required to experience the healing miracle?
The second thought that came to my mind, was that the first thing Jesus said wasn't that the paralyzed man was physically healed, but that his sins were forgiven. Jesus came to heal the sick, but maybe our perspective of sick needs to be realigned.
I pray that I can apply a "digging" perspective in my own life so that I can experience Jesus and desire Him more. Also, when I feel a physically pain, I pray that I would be reminded of the more important spiritual healing that I require.
1 comment:
Spiritual illness may be invisible but it is far more destructive.
One thing my Life Application bible pointed out was that the crowd was too thick for the man to get to Jesus, without considerable help from his friends. We need to make sure we're not the crowd - so busy we're oblivious to the needy person who needs Jesus.
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