Matthew 9
"1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
I'm currently reading the book of Matthew, and today I came across this one particular verse. I first thought that I misread this one verse, but I didn't..."When Jesus saw their faith..." Yes. Not the faith of the paralytic, but the faith of the men. It really didn't matter if the paralytic actually believed Jesus can heal him, but what really did matter were the faith of the men who brought Jesus to this man. I always pray to God to use me, as a vessel, a messenger, and a living example of the Gospel, but in reality I rarely live up to my hopes. In fact, I don't remember the last time I brought a non-Christian to church. Just like the paralytic, the nonbelievers will be unable to come to God on their own, so it is up to me...up to us to bring Christ into their lives. It's a huge burden. It's hard and sometimes even embarrassing to talk about the Gospel to anyone. But how can we dare put our prides ahead of the most incredible and inspiring love men has been shown? We aren't hesitant to talk about the love in Korean dramas or those of our friends, but often just too ashamed to talk about the Gospel. These paralytics are everywhere in our lives and if God wills it, let them also experience and live in the same love that we do everyday and will for eternity.
2 comments:
dang, such good insight. thanks for sharing, eric (:
This was really convicting. So true that the focus isn't on that particular person's lack of faith so much as our faith in the healing power of merciful love.
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