Article by: District Evangelist M. Wildfong
What is a Miracle? Miracles are evidence of God’s Omnipotence; they are events or signs that elicit astonishment, when God helps in an unexpected and surprising manner (Doctrine and Knowledge 2006).
Today we explore the miracle of the Paralytic Man which we find in Mark 2: 1-12.
The Lord Jesus came to Capernaum. When folks heard that Jesus was there, they filled the house to the point of being completely full. Four friends of the paralysed man brought him to Jesus in hopes that he could be healed. Although the house was full, his friends were not deterred; so they climbed on the roof, removed a section, and lowered him down. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,
“Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Jesus went on to say
“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately the man got up, picked up his bed and went out. This truly was evidence of Jesus’ divine power!
Our faith and determination
In life we live through events which may be out of our control, we face obstacles, which deter us and create frustration. Although we approach our triune God for help, we become discouraged when faced with difficulties and the lack of an immediate resolution to our problems. We expect the Lord to intervene and to help. However, when our expectations are not met we begin to lose our trust in Him and doubt creeps in. Could you imagine if the paralysed man would have done this? If he had simply said to his friends “take me home”, or if his friends would have said “this is impossible, we can’t get through, we need to take him home”, this miracle would never have taken place!
It took a lot of strength and ingenuity on the part of his friends to get him in front of Christ. They did that for their friend! They had faith in the Son of God and nothing was going to deter them. They had no doubt in their hearts; they just needed to figure out how to get him in. We cannot lose heart but remain determined to find a way! Our faith must propel us forward to overcome the obstacles which stand in our way.
Our faith in helping our friends
We as children of God however need to support one another, just as the paralysed man’s friends did. When we see our neighbour is struggling, don’t say “oh, there is nothing I can do.” Don’t walk away and say “they are on their own.”
Just as the four friends figured it out for their paralysed friend, we can help our struggling neighbour experience the power and love of Christ. By showing our faith and trust in Christ, others will follow our lead. Continue to pray and support one another as our Chief Apostle emphasises to help “our fallen brother rise.”
Christ’s love and compassion
Knowing that Christ is all-powerful, that He loves us, and is compassionate towards us, we draw close to Him, just as the paralytic man and his friends did. Thereby we experience Christ’s helping hand in our life of faith which leads to our eternal salvation. This becomes our ultimate miracle.