Today’s scripture: Matthew 9:1-8 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Carla Peck):
Today’s story appears in three places in the Bible that I know of (see also Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26). This indicates to me that there must be an important message for us.
A paralyzed man is brought to Jesus for healing. Isn’t it odd that the first thing Jesus says is:
“Take heart son, your sins are forgiven.”
Imagine going to the doctor for an extreme case of poison ivy, after all, it is the season for many of us to begin working in our yards again. Your poison ivy is itching and spreading rapidly, the over the counter ointments are not helping, and you have to walk like a stick figure so that you don’t further aggravate the miserable rash.
As a last resort you go to the doctor for fast relief — that anti-itch ointment and those pills that work from the inside out. But, instead of giving you the prescriptions for the medicine, your doctor completely ignores your obvious physical condition and says something like “I suspect that you completed a soul care plan at your church this year and I would like to know how that is going for you.”
Just imagine what the paralyzed man and his friends who brought him to Jesus must have been thinking when they heard Jesus’ greeting:
“Take heart son, your sins are forgiven,”
especially given the man’s obvious physical distress. Do you think it is possible that Jesus wanted the man’s emotional pains to be healed first so that when Jesus healed his physical disorder, the man would be completely free to live a new life, as given by the grace of God, without paralysis?
Similar to the poison ivy pills that work from the inside first and then to the outside, perhaps Jesus is teaching us about an interconnection between our soul and our body. Just as Jesus has forgiven our sins, do we need to forgive ourselves or someone else, to diminish emotional pain or physical hurt?
Thought for the day: May the love and compassion of Jesus surround you today and bring healing to your emotional pain and physical hurt. Lord, help us all to be more like Jesus by extending a forgiving heart. Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.