“And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven…Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’” (Matthew 9)
In the pursuit of joy, God grants us His gifts in many ways. Some gifts are immediate, others last longer. In this story, the paralyzed man was given immediate joy. Before that day he had known nothing of the joy of running through a hill side or swimming in a lake. Jesus’ gift was a radical blessing that changed this man’s life. Words could not express the overflowing joy that would have flooded through this man’s soul as he placed his legs on the ground for the first time.
Each day, God grants gifts like these to people all over this world. Some of these blessings are seen for the miracles that they are. Somewhere today, someone will unexplainably be freed from cancer. In other cases, God’s gifts of joy are placed within a simple meal, a gentle breeze, or an enthralling sunset. God gives blessings of joy to all nations and all peoples. They are the evidence of His love and His presence.
What Jesus gave that day went far beyond a pair of new legs. Jesus, seeing this man’s faith, looked upon him and said these words, “Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” The first part of His address commands the paralytic to take courage. These were the same words Jesus used to reassure his disciples that He was with them on the raging see. He used them to comfort Paul in the midst of a life threatening situation. And now, Jesus looked upon this man who was surrounded by the condescending waves of his illness and said, “take courage”.
Jesus could not say these words if new legs were his only gift. As anyone who has walked on this earth knows, anxiety comes even for those who can run the fastest. Jesus said these fateful words because this man would not just receive new legs but also a new family. Jesus addresses this man with the same Greek word that a father uses to call his son. This was not a word to elevate Jesus’ status as superior but a word of welcome into a divine family.
Though God gives joy to all people, it is to His children that He promises unbroken joy. Joy that cannot be broken in the midst of hardships. Joy that cannot even be broken by the greatest enemy of all, death. That day Jesus looked upon His child and said, “Your sins are forgiven”. At that moment death lost its teeth in this man’s life. He was alive in a new family that lives forever and he had a brand new pair of legs to prove it.
To my knowledge there is no further record of this man’s life. We know nothing of his future earnings or children. Though we know nothing for use, I have a suspicion that when those legs wore out for the final time that they were not the focus of his last words. What he received on that beach in the presence of Christ was the first day of unending days walking as a child of God in unbroken joy.
As we traverse the valleys of this world, the story of the paralytic’s life should walk with us. We often cry for release from pain. We perceive our happiness to be dependent on our immediate needs and wants. While our Father is certainly willing and happy to bless us with “new legs” let us not forget what we inherit as His children. We are tapped into the very Source of joy of peace. We are His children, let us happily receive His unbreakable joy as our old legs wear out only make room for our new ones!
