Pastor Timothy Keller discusses Mark’s account of Jesus healing a paralytic (Mark 2: 1-5) in Chapter 3 of King’s Cross. He calls attention to Jesus’ immediate response- to forgive the paralytic’s sins. While a casual observer might think that Jesus first would have responded to the man’s condition by healing him, Jesus knew the paralytic had a much greater problem than his physical condition- his sinful condition.
The author then applies Mark’s account to our lives. Pastor Keller asks:
“If someone said to you, ‘The main problem in your life is not what’s happened to you, nor what people have done to you; your main problem is the way you’ve responded to that.’- ironically, that’s empowering. Why? Because you can’t do very much about what’s happened to you or about what other people are doing- but you can do something about yourself.”
Jesus is confronting the spiritual, professional, emotional and material devastation of our ministry downsizing or position loss by drawing us to deepen the innermost longings of our hearts. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered as our identity is built on Jesus. Our deepest wish won’t heal us. Only Jesus is our Savior.
