Experiencing God's Presence #223

Experiencing God's Presence #223

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 2:5

Many of us would be disappointed with the above statement. The paralytic’s friends went to great lengths to get him into the Presence of Jesus, lowering him on a stretcher through a clay-and-thatch roof in order to break to the front of the line. Clearly they came for one thing: healing. They wanted their friend to walk. He wanted to walk. A miracle was all they had on their minds. So a declaration of forgiveness, while a nice spiritual touch, might have been a letdown.

There are times, of course, when we realize that our sin is the heaviest weight we carry. It’s a burden that keeps us down. But usually when we come to God with a request, it’s for something more practical than absolution. Just like the paralytic and his friends, we want a miracle.

We know the right perspective, of course—that knowing God is our greatest need. But a remarkable tendency of Jesus is to meet our practical needs in addition to our deep, spiritual needs. Often in Scripture He healed, fed, or brought deliverance to prepare people to receive His mercy and to know Him, but sometimes He simply met the need without a lot of spiritual explanation. Why? Because He cares. Because He wants us to know His heart more than His doctrine. Because as the God of compassion, that’s what He does.

Still, His primary focus is to get our sin out of the way because He hates obstacles in our relationship. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He bypasses lectures about wrongdoing and goes straight to the hugs and celebration of our return. And in the process, He deals with us as whole, integrated people, with practical, material, physical needs. We are free to accept every blessing He offers.

Jesus, I seek Your face for all my needs—spiritual, physical, material, emotional, psychological, relational, and everything else. Thank You for Your comprehensive touch in every part of my being.