Advent Devotional for Dec. 7
Sunday, December 7 Mark 2:1-12
Healing proclaims God’s forgiveness.
This passage is a favorite with young children who love the image of a house so crowded that the paralytic’s friends carry him to the roof of the house, cut a hole in the roof, and lower the man so he is right in front of Jesus. Jesus’ immediate response, his first words? “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What a strange thing that would be to say in our culture! Imagine going to the doctor’s office, being examined and tested and being told, “Your sins are forgiven.” You’d think to yourself, “Time to get a real doctor” and back slowly toward the exit.
Yet Jesus’ response has a point. After he pronounces the man forgiven, the religious authorities begin to grumble and say, “Who is this guy who says he can forgive sins? Only God can forgive sin.” This is of course true, but they do not know that Jesus is God! Jesus, for his part, responds by saying, “Just so you can see I have the kind of power it takes to forgive sins, I’m going to heal this man’s paralysis as well, and the man begins to walk around. The crowd is stunned at this miracle of Jesus. The fact Jesus healed the man made his message that much more trustworthy—he really was God, and the healing proved it to people!
In the same way, our healing testifies to the world that Jesus is God. Our lives demonstrate God’s healing when we are kind, generous, peaceable (even in the midst of conflict), and open to His leading even when it means changing our lives. When Jesus’ followers live like this, the world learns to trust Jesus! Unfortunately, the flip side is that when his followers are vindictive, cruel, unforgiving and stingy, the world learns that Jesus is not the transformative agent he claims to be. When his followers are not healed, the world thinks Jesus is a liar. Let God heal you today—so that the world can see his love and power more clearly!
Healing proclaims God’s forgiveness.
This passage is a favorite with young children who love the image of a house so crowded that the paralytic’s friends carry him to the roof of the house, cut a hole in the roof, and lower the man so he is right in front of Jesus. Jesus’ immediate response, his first words? “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What a strange thing that would be to say in our culture! Imagine going to the doctor’s office, being examined and tested and being told, “Your sins are forgiven.” You’d think to yourself, “Time to get a real doctor” and back slowly toward the exit.
Yet Jesus’ response has a point. After he pronounces the man forgiven, the religious authorities begin to grumble and say, “Who is this guy who says he can forgive sins? Only God can forgive sin.” This is of course true, but they do not know that Jesus is God! Jesus, for his part, responds by saying, “Just so you can see I have the kind of power it takes to forgive sins, I’m going to heal this man’s paralysis as well, and the man begins to walk around. The crowd is stunned at this miracle of Jesus. The fact Jesus healed the man made his message that much more trustworthy—he really was God, and the healing proved it to people!
In the same way, our healing testifies to the world that Jesus is God. Our lives demonstrate God’s healing when we are kind, generous, peaceable (even in the midst of conflict), and open to His leading even when it means changing our lives. When Jesus’ followers live like this, the world learns to trust Jesus! Unfortunately, the flip side is that when his followers are vindictive, cruel, unforgiving and stingy, the world learns that Jesus is not the transformative agent he claims to be. When his followers are not healed, the world thinks Jesus is a liar. Let God heal you today—so that the world can see his love and power more clearly!
posted by Michael Jordan at 6:00 AM
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