A Small Devotional - Mark 2:5

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'”

-Mark 2:5

Much is made, and rightly so, of the faith of the paralytic’s friends. But take a moment and find yourself in the shoes of this infirm man. He and his friends have struggled to reach the presence of Jesus in order that they might receive healing. They stood in the distance and watched as a great multitude entered the house where Jesus stayed afflicted by every sort of malady, and left the presence of Jesus completely cured. They have suffered bumps and bruises and even risked death, just to give this crippled man the chance to walk once more. But what does Jesus do when he sees them? Not only does he fail to heal the man’s crippling ailment, but he claims to do something no mere man can do - forgive sins. O brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ deemed it far more necessary that spiritual healing be provided than physical healing. O Christian do you recognise the greater miracle? Jesus provided both physical and spiritual healing for this crippled man, but even with only the latter, this man would have gone away rejoicing! Do you recognize your own greater need? What the world may view as a disappointing lack of healing, those of us in Christ celebrate as a spiritual resurrection! 

Dear brothers and sisters, do you doubt God’s goodness when the physical healing fails to come? Do you fear that your God is not who he claims to be, when the pressures of the world begin to mount? Are you disappointed with the circumstances of your life? May it never be! Rejoice in every situation, whether good or evil, whether healing comes or never arrives, because Jesus has addressed your greater need! Be not blinded by the small and temporary needs that asail you in the day to day, but recognize the need of an eternal solution. An eternal solution which has been provided! This is indeed a greater miracle. Does your life reflect that? Do you show more gratitude for the gift of your salvation than the gratitude you would show if any number of ailments were forever taken from you? And do you fight the sins for which your Lord Jesus died to free you? If in his death Christ eradicated the sickness of sin, why then do the symptoms persist in your mortal bodies? Brothers and sisters, let us fix our gaze upon the one who pioneered our faith, who has saved us from sin, even though we knew not to ask for such freedom. Let us approach him often, listen to him constantly, commune with him in fellowship, petition him in private, praise him with all breath, and meditate on his words in all quietness of heart. For he has indeed said to us, “son, your sins are forgiven.”