Which is easier? To forgive sins or to heal and restore the physical body by a word? Both are naturally impossible. But Jesus Christ showed His power and authority over both.
Mark 2:9-12 (Easy-to-Read Version)
The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say to the crippled man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? Then you will be able to see if I really have this power or not.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.” Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He picked up his mat and walked out of the room. Everyone could see him. They were amazed and praised God. They said, “This is the most amazing thing we have ever seen!”
The Kingdom of God had come to earth in the living man of Jesus Christ. He began healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sins, speaking to women when they weren’t seen as worthy, treating everyone with compassion and dignity, and reforming outcasts of their social standing. He seemed to enjoy rocking the boat. He hated inequality. He hated maltreatment of human life. He hated what sin did to humanity. He came to show a new way and make the ultimate sacrifice. No one had seen anything like it.
No one has still seen anything like it. Some people hate it, some people are indifferent, some are fascinated by it, some receive it but how many people truly embrace it and live in that same stream?
The Physical and the Spiritual Condition
Sin is an ailment just as a physical condition is. Except it is a dis-ease of the soul. Just as humanity can’t stop physical sickness without intervention, we can’t stop sin without intervention either. Just as an addict can’t overcome addiction without acknowledging they’re an addict and seeking help, neither can we overcome sin without acknowledging we’re sinners and seeking a Saviour.
One is physical, the other is spiritual. But it’s no different to the Author of the physical and the spiritual. It’s all the same to Him. Only He has the power to heal the body and the soul, and restore the spirit.
Do you believe in perfect love? Love that can heal the sick and deliver people from demons that battle over our minds? The Saviour loves us wholly and wants our whole heart. Our whole body. Our whole mind. He came to reclaim us. If we agree to be reclaimed, what do we do? How do we live? We hand over our need to do things our own way and agree to do things His way. Then we need to practise living in the stream of the Holy Spirit; to watch and learn the way He flows and move in His current.
Sacrifice
We’ve all heard the term “it’s all about perspective”. It’s a good saying. Attitudes define us. Beliefs and value systems are paramount in our perspectives. Our perspective on sacrifice is also paramount to wellness, wholeness and ease of the soul.
While sacrifice would seemingly be unpopular in today’s loony-tune world, sacrifice is necessary in anything that is worthwhile. If you want to lose weight you sacrifice eating. If you want to be fit and healthy you sacrifice time you’d rather spend sitting and you work out. If you want to earn a money you sacrifice recreational time. If you want to prioritise quality family time you sacrifice a certain lifestyle. If you want emotional stability for your children you sacrifice yourself to ensure their needs are met over yours.
It’s not easy to lay things down so that you can gain something else but we make the greatest sacrifice for the greatest endeavour and the greatest reward.
Sacrifice prunes off things in our lives that then moulds our character and produces fruit according to the sacrifice.
What sacrifice is most valuable to you? You’ll go after that thing.
God has a plan for that kind of pruning. A sacrifice worth eternal life, freedom from sin, and peace that passes our own understanding in the circumstances of life is more critical than any other sacrifice.
Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Rest for the soul is underrated. People get caught up and run down in sacrifices that aren’t worth the reward or because the reward is long in coming. It’s hard to find the balance.
Matthew 11:29 (ESV)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
We all have deep desires in life that we see as needs. Perhaps we push our way to a position or try to attain a certain lifestyle, perhaps we want admiration from people or need to be the best at everything. But there’s never an end to that need to get ahead, that need for more. Perhaps we just hope and pray and wait for change to come but change doesn’t come when or how we expect and we’re left disheartened. Perhaps our bodies fail us or our marriage does, our relationships aren’t what we desire and we feel empty. Perhaps we have intense longings inside of us that we can’t seem to assuage and we just keep needing more – more money, more sex, more attention, more knowledge, more power, more thrills, more highs.
The balance is hard to find if your heart isn’t where Jesus is at. If you feel torn between your desires in this world and laying things down you’re out of balance. We need more more more and forget about the relevance of sacrifice.
Matthew 19:24 (NASB)
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
The things of this world aren’t going to satisfy forever. The need for more of God in our lives is the only need that will ease the sickness in our body and yearnings in our soul.
Romans 14:23 (ESV)
Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
It could be said that dis-ease of the soul is lack of faith and is born from many angles, many needs - but there is a simple solution.
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the lover of your soul.
Hebrews 12:2 (GNT)
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross!...
A heart that is humble is the heart that will sacrifice the greatest and receive the greatest rewards.
Case in point is the story of the woman with the issue of blood in the bible. Read the article here telling her beautiful story.
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