I love the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man who was lowered through a roof to see Jesus. The whole tale is filled with excitement and beauty. But today, I want to consider Jesus’ initial statement to the paralytic. In Matthew 9:2, Jesus says to the man, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”[1]
What cheers you up? What types of things or circumstances can shift you from gloomy to glad? Often, we are cheered by physical things. Good health, financial security, pleasure, and so on. Surely, the paralytic cheered up when his paralysis was healed. But he had reason to rejoice before that happened. Jesus told him to cheer up because he had been forgiven. Even if Jesus hadn’t healed the paralysis, the man would have had great reason to rejoice that day. Maybe your life doesn’t seem all that cheery. But if you are a child of God, you have every reason to cheer up, for your sins are forgiven!
[1] WEB