The man was an outcast. People of his own town looked at him with a mixture of disdain and “you must have deserved this.” His family, those who were supposed to take care of him treated him even worse. They had disowned him. After all, the sickness he was suffering from meant that he was cursed. They believed he had done something very bad to have this terrible illness come upon him. He was paralyzed. He couldn’t do anything for himself. He was depending on the kindness of strangers to help him with the most basic needs of life.
One day, four friends who had taken on the care for him carried him on a stretcher to a doctor like no other. Just one problem, when they got to the waiting room, it was completely full. No chance to fit anyone else in. Not to give up easily, the four looked for available alternatives to get their friend in front of the brilliant doctor. What they came up with was unconventional but it worked. They made a hole in the roof of the doctors house and lowered the mat containing their friend right in front of the doctor!
He was impressed by their bold belief that he could be of help. The doctors response, however, was not what they expected. Instead of making the paraplegic well, he addressed him with a word this man had never heard but always longed for:
Son!
For the first time since he could remember, he had a sense of belonging. To be addressed as “son” meant that he was someone’s child, that he had a family. Then the doctor spoke words that were equally startling:
“I forgive you your sins!”
All a sudden, the self-condemning thoughts, that his paralysis was directly caused by something he did or didn’t do melted away. He was forgiven, his slate was clean. Even though he was still paralyzed, deep joy and a sense of belonging flooded his heart.
But the doctor’s treatment wasn’t finished yet. The man heard the doctor say:
“Get up! Pick up your stretcher and go home.”
As he tried to work never before moved muscles and joints, he felt them strengthen. He was able to stand to his feet. More than that. He could grab his mat and walk out of the room.
The mat had carried him, now he carried the mat! Everyone watching pinched themselves and cheered, because they had never seen anything like this.
You might have recognized the story and the doctor. Jesus not only healed the body of the man. More importantly, he forgave his sin and mended the broken heart of an unloved man who was now a son and member of a new family.
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