“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:18-20)

     The friends of this paralyzed man went to great lengths to work their way around the crowd to get to Jesus.  They knew he was the one who could heal this man.  Jesus could see all of the trouble they went through to get to him, and this was a strong indicator of their faith.  This moved Jesus to explain to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

     Jesus was giving this man not only a physical healing, but a spiritual healing, as well.  The physical healing met his immediate needs, but the spiritual healing was even more significant.  He experienced the power of forgiveness of sins and a new life in Christ.    It is good when we do what we can to take care of our physical self, but the thing that lasts forever is our Spirit.  To have a spiritual healing through the work of Jesus Christ is what we all need.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we trust in you for everything.  We thank you for loving us and forgiving our sins.  Help us to love and forgive others in the same way that you did for us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.