Spiritual Health
by Ryan Duncan, Crosswalk.com Entertainment Editor
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. – John 14:27
Lately I’ve been reflecting on the story of Jesus and the paralytic. You’ve probably heard it before; it appears in Mark chapter 2, when four men break through a roof to bring their friend to Jesus.
And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven '; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk '? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins "-He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home." And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this." – Mark 2:2-12
What gets me when I read this story is that, after all these men did to get their friend to Jesus, the first thing he does is say, "Your sins are forgiven." I must have read this story a hundred times, yet I always seem to forget that Jesus healed the man’s soul before he healed his body. I don’t know about you, but it bothers me how easy it is for us to focus so much on our physical needs that we overlook our spiritual ones. They don’t necessarily have to be selfish needs either.
“Please let me be healthy, please let me find a job, please let my car not break down.”These are things everyone prays for, but what happens when we grow so concerned about our lives that we forget to ask God for more faith, or wisdom, or opportunities to exercise His Grace? Walking with Christ means balancing the physical with the spiritual, because while our bodies were made for this world, our spirits were made for somewhere else.
Intersecting Faith and Life: Are your physical needs overshadowing your spiritual ones? Take time to pray and meditate on his word.
Further Reading
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