By JQuisumbing
This is my reality. For the rest of my life, I can look forward to spending 97% of my time in a hospital bed. I am an incomplete quadriplegic, a debilitating by-product of a compressed spinal cord condition. I am 98% dependent on either my wife or a nurse to feed me, dress me, give me a bath and other things that I will not mention here to spare you from grossing out. I know, I know! It sounds like I am trying to start some kind of pity-me-party to gain some sympathy. But incredibly enough, the craving for pity is very far from my mind. You see, regardless of what I’m going through, I’m experiencing a PEACE & JOY that is beyond comprehension. [Philippians 4:7] However, my usual display of joy does not hinder some from praying for my complete healing. I mean that they really want to see me up on my feet and walk away happy. I will be the first to admit that I would be elated in the prospect, but then I must take a pause and ask,
‘What would be the Lord’s will?’
Then in my mind sprung the Gospel narrative of when the paralytic was brought before Jesus.
In Luke 5, we read the story of 5 friends desperately carrying the listless body of another friend to the house of Simon Peter’s in-laws where the roving miracle-worker, Jesus of Nazareth, was teaching. Their friend was paralytic. When they got to the house, they found that the entrance was blocked by a large crowd. Unfazed they decided to be a little drastic in getting him to Jesus.
Practically every house of first century Capernaum had flat roofs, usually used by household members as a place to sleep during the summer hot nights. The men took their friend up a set of steps built against the outer wall to the roof where they knew that it was composed of tilings made of compacted dried mud and cob supported by cross beams. Digging through would have been a cake walk. I wondered if they worried about ticking off the owners of the house. Anyway, they made an opening large enough to lower the paralytic through. When Jesus saw their faith, he said an astonishing and unexpected thing.
Jesus said, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:20)
The people in that room had been following the rabbi from one village to another and they had witnessed Him heal people from all sorts of ailments. They, including the 5 friends peering through the gaping hole they made, expected Jesus to say, “Get up, you are healed!” I think if we were there, we all would have expected Him to perform a spectacular miracle. By the way, later in verse 24, Jesus did heal him and he walked. Now, this came about because Jesus’ critics were thinking that He just committed great blasphemies with that ‘your sins are forgiven’ declaration.
Then I had an off-tangent thought: What if the Pharisees and the scribes were not so critical, would Jesus let the paralytic go home in the same condition? Let us assume that he did go home still paralyzed. What would mankind think about that? I am quite sure that many would be disappointed and even quite critical. The mind set would be that Jesus who is God should have healed the paralytic. But then God is not them!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9)
When Jesus looked up at the men on the roof, He knew what they saw in their friend; a sad creature who lost the will to live because of his physical condition. That was the extent of their sight. But for the Son of God, He saw everything. What He saw was the paralytic’s true problem and it was not his physical condition. It was one of the symptoms but not the source. By Jesus’ own words in verse 20, SIN was the source of his dilemma. And there is only one resolution for sin.
DIVINE FORGIVENESS
So, even if that young man went home still paralyzed for the rest of his natural life, I truly believe he would have lived with such joy. How can I say this with confidence? Because I am living that life right now. God’s forgiveness of my sins is more precious to me than anything else.
TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY
Side note: By the way, I will always appreciate your prayers for healing because I know where your heart is.
Johann Quisumbing 