Day 9
"He forgives"
"Then behold they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "'Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.'"
Matthew 9:2
As we pray for those God has given us to reach out to, this story comes along. Two things cannot escape our attention today.
First, the paralytic's friends brought him to Jesus. I could stop right there and coin a phrase: "Friends bring friends to Jesus." That's what it looks like here. A paralytic cannot walk for himself. He cannot transport himself to be healed. He is unable to go anywhere without help, but apparently this paralytic was fortunate enough to have some real friends – the kind who are willing to take him straight to Jesus. You've got to love friends like that.
But notice this: "When Jesus saw THEIR faith…" There is no way around this phrase. Jesus honored the faith of the friends, and worked in this man's life. What about your faith? When you bring your friends to hear about Jesus, do you expect God to work? You should!
The second thing is really worth noting. Jesus did something far better than making this man able to walk. He forgave him of his sins. Walking is good, but walking is temporary. Forgiveness is forever. And so is unforgiveness.
You see, when we bring people to Jesus we give them the opportunity to escape an eternity of separation and condemnation because of sin. We lead them to the One who can set them free. And if they choose to accept that forgiveness, we have also led them to a place of absolute acceptance before a Holy and Merciful God.
The paralytic in Matthew 9 is a picture of the lame and broken people God has placed in our lives who either cannot or will not come to experience the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The men who brought this paralytic are a picture of Christ-followers who know that the only escape from a life of hopelessness is Jesus.
We should be praying. We should also plan on bringing people to meet Jesus.
Who will we bring today?
Lord, I am reminded today of the incredible forgiveness you've given me, and that there are many people in my life that I call friends who have never tasted forgiveness. I've never brought them to You! But I'm willing to! As I pray for them, help me also plan for them to hear – one way or another – about Your merciful ways through Jesus Christ.
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