I Want to Walk!

The following is encouragement for you as if Jesus Christ Himself was speaking.  These are meant to give you insight into His Heart, how He thinks, and how He feels about you.  Let this encouragement begin to dwell deep within you!

One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there.  And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.  Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay 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.”
 
The Pharisees and teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
 
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”  He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 
 
LUKE 5:17-25 (NIV)
 

Most sermons on this story revolve around the hardness of the Pharisees, or the unbelievable faith of the paralyzed man’s friends, or the healing itself.  I’d like to give some time, however, to the homeowner in this story, someone we rarely if ever think of!
 
His life was turned upside down that day, what with all the important guests in his home.  What an honor!  What a day!  Little did he know fanatics would soon cut a huge hole in his roof, a hole big enough to let a cot down, a hole big enough for anyone, anywhere to see.  This dismantling of his home wasn’t scheduled to be part of the day’s events, as far as he was concerned.  What would he do?  How would he look to the spiritual leaders present?
 
He made a decision to let his largest worldly possession, his home, be damaged by these fanatics, and to let a smelly sick man come into his front room, because he wanted to see the larger picture, and what I would do.  He surely could have, within his rights, chased those building wreckers away and kept his home intact.  But his decision to allow something not planned to happen saved a brother’s emotional and physical life.  He decided to choose the long vision, rather than a vision of just a few hours.  He realized that bricks, tiles and mortar could be repaired easily, but the paralyzed man was more important.
 
Then I caused more “confusion” by forgiving the man’s sins.  Where was the physical healing, the miracle, and the excitement of it all?  The answer is simple.  I am always interested in TOTAL healing, and what better place to start than in that man’s heart and soul!  That’s long-term!  That’s first things first!  Afterwards it was time for the physical miracle.
 
If you will let me, I would like to be inside your “house”, your heart.  And yes, sometimes my plan might seem upside down to you, sometimes it may seem to be messy, sometimes it may seem a strange way of action, sometimes my plan seems to be simply unknown.  But I assure you I am always in charge, always thinking of greater blessings, always looking at the larger, and longer, picture. 
 
Can I come and be in your house today?  Know that the roof will be fixed, but more importantly, so will you.
 
I really like you, and I really love you!
 
 
PAUSE … Quiet yourself in His love and invite Him to be with you.
 
 
REFLECT … Some questions for you…
 
 
1) Does Jesus follow your plans, or do you try to follow his plans?  Might His plan seem upside-down sometimes?
 
2) What was going on inside the homeowner's mind?  Why would he allow his home to be damaged?  How would you have acted as that homeowner?  Could you have seen the eternal as opposed to the temporary?  Could you see in this story the battle between the homeowner's feelings about his house being damaged, and his faith that something greater was happening?

3) Can you see the Holy Spirit speaking to this homeowner, reassuring him that something really important was about to happen, and to be patient?

4) Can you see how the Holy Spirit then (and like He does today with us) would give this homeowner a deeper understanding of what Jesus could and would do?
 
4) Would you have been swayed by the "important" people in the home, or been able to trust Jesus as your home was being changed and (seemingly) damaged?
 
5) Are you asking for the best, long-term, total healing, or just what you can see?  In this story, the long-term healing would have been the forgiveness offered to him.  This was first on the priority list for Jesus.  The physical healing was simply a bonus gift.
 
6) Have you received forgiveness?  Have you given forgiveness?

7) How about your own battles between feelings and faith?
 
 
RECEIVE ...
 
Jesus, forgive me …..  
Jesus, thank you for forgiving me …..  
Jesus, help me to forgive others …..
Jesus, I choose to forgive you, myself and others in your strength.
 

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