One more time, love, won't you come remind me?

We're here to talk about Matthew 9 today! These verses got me thinking last night...

And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" --he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

-Matthew 9: 1-8

I think it is important that Jesus healed the man's sins before he healed his paralysis. There's an As Cities Burn song called Admission: Regret that helped me understand this. In that song, they flip things a bit and tell the story of a man trapped in his bed due to sin rather than any physical ailment. "So I hear there's a whole world out there, but I've grown to love this bed too much to leave it." It is our sins that keep us bedridden, that make us ill, and paralyze us from following God.

It may seem like gaining the ability to walk is the big deal here, but it's really not. To quote Ted Dekker, "Whoever said a straightened hand was better than a healed heart anyways?" It's in this way that God, in his wisdom, always gives us what we need first, and what we want second. It's a safe bet the main thing on the paralytic's mind was being able to walk, but Jesus gave him what was probably a disappointment. Forgiveness. And yet, this forgiveness is all he really needed. Only by being forgiven can we get into heaven.

And yet, Jesus didn't stop at forgiveness, as he so easily could have. He continued to bless the man, going beyond what he needed by giving him exactly what he asked for. In this same way God blesses us every day! We may not get what we want right when we want it, but when we ask for things, God still hears our prayers and works all to our good. He has already met our greatest need on the cross, and continues to meet our needs everyday through the holy spirit. What we want will come in time. We have to learn to want the right things as we grow in sanctification, anyway (half our problem is that we don't ask for enough!!). And even more importantly, we have to learn to have patience, for someday all afflictions that trouble us will be gone, all needs and wants will be gone, and there will only be the presence of God...

"awake! awake in the company of men given something to say
give me a servant's heart and a tongue to obey
awake! come wind
awake! come thought
tired head, take up your mat,
take your mat and walk"

-As Cities Burn