Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” – Mark 2:5 NLT
This next sentence is something I’m embarrassed to write.
I’ve been a Jesus follower for over 30 years and, as much as I know He needs to be first over everything in my life, there are days (more than I’d like to admit) when I allow other things to take priority over Him.
I know I’m not alone in that struggle.
In Mark 2:1-2, four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. There’s such a large crowd around the house where Jesus is staying that the friends climb up on the roof, dig a hole, and lower their friend down to Jesus. (Can you imagine how terrifying that must have been for their paralyzed friend?) While Scripture never records one word the friends said, their actions communicate undeniably what they’re asking of Jesus: Please heal our friend.
But Jesus doesn’t do that – at least not at first. In today’s verse, the first words out of Jesus’ mouth to the paralyzed man are, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Can you imagine what the man and his friends must have been thinking in that moment? We didn’t come all this way for You to forgive his sins. We want him to walk again!
Jesus knew that the paralyzed man’s very real need was not his greatest need. Man’s deepest need was not physical, but spiritual: for his sins to be forgiven.
Now, Jesus wasn’t saying He didn’t care about the man’s paralysis or that his disability was caused by some sin in the man’s life. If you read the whole passage, you’ll find [spoiler alert] that Jesus does, in fact, heal the paralyzed man. But, before Jesus can bring about the physical healing that man requires, He brings about the spiritual healing that man requires even more.
All of us have moments when someone or something eclipses God in our lives; when we allow the noise and needs of our world to take priority over Him. While God isn’t saying we should ignore everyone and everything, He is gently reminding us here that our greatest need in life is Him.
Maybe you’re in a place right now where you’re doing awesome things with God and things have literally never been better.
But maybe things aren’t so awesome for you right now. Maybe you discover that God doesn’t have the place in your life that you think He should. Maybe the demands of work, home, or school, have crowded Him out. Maybe financial challenges, doom scrolling, health challenges and other disappointments have you wondering if pursuing a relationship with God is even worth it.
If that describes you in any way, know this isn’t a guilt trip or a verbal lashing meant to send you into a spiral of shame. Rather, it’s an invitation to accept the same offer Jesus extended to the paralyzed man that He extends to you and me today: to come into His presence with all your burdens, hurts, and struggles, to lay them before Jesus, and allow Him to meet your greatest need, which is more of Him.
What does this look like exactly? Well, it begins by learning to create a rhythm that includes practices designed to help you be with Him more. It’s the regular confession of sin, asking for His forgiveness, and taking steps to make things right. It’s getting plugged into a church where you can connect with other Christians and come alongside each other as you strive to practice the way of Jesus in your everyday life, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Author and pastor Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs.” “It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.” [1]
When you put Jesus first in your life, you’ll find, like the paralyzed man, His transforming power at work in every area of your life.
Dig Deeper
1. On a scale of 1–10, what is your desire to deepen your relationship with God? What things have taken the place of where He’s supposed to be?
2. Set aside five (or more) minutes at the start and end of each day this week to spend with the Lord. Use that time to ask the Lord what the next steps are that you need to take to grow your relationship with Him.
