“And when He (Jesus)saw their faith, He said unto him, ‘Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.'” Luke 5:20
Dear Ones:
The story is told in three of the gospels about a man who was so crippled that he could not come to Jesus to be healed. There were those in the area, whether friends or relatives, who took the man and sought to bring him to Jesus. Because of the crowd surrounding the house where Jesus was, they could not reach him. They then proceeded to carry the sick man to the roof of the house, and let him down through the tiling, in front of the Lord Jesus. It is then that Scripture tells us that Jesus SAW their faith, and as a result, told the crippled man that his sins were forgiven. The first thing we note here is that Jesus saw something that was invisible, but which had an effect in the real visible world. The second thing we see is that Jesus pronounced something in the hearing of the people, which had an effect in the invisible world. And the last thing we see, is that Jesus brings the invisible into the visible world, thus confirming the work, power, and authority of God.
With regard to that which Jesus saw in the invisible, Scripture tells us that is was true faith in God. The effect of this faith was that the men who brought the sick man to Jesus, acted with the certainty that if they brought him to Jesus, he would be healed. They were sure of it. Jesus saw this, when no other person could. Secondly, the Lord Jesus then declares something that all could hear, but none could see…that the man’s sins were very real, and now, were forgiven. Then, lastly, the Lord Jesus takes the very real and visible situation that everyone could see, the paralytic lying crippled on his mat, then telling him: “Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house.” (Luke 5:24) This he did. Christ addressed the invisible, the effects of which became visible. What is the great lesson of this story? It is that God is always looking for true faith in the heart, whether on the part of an individual or many. Why then is “faith in the heart” so very important to God? The first and simplest answer is that this is God’s designated way for man to live with and before the Almighty God.
In the book of Hebrews, we read: “But without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him (God)…” (11:6) Why is this so? We know from Scripture that the first and greatest commandment is that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. The greatest expression of love is trust, absolute confidence and reliance upon another. With respect to the unchanging character and nature of God, the call for man to trust Him fully is perfectly logical because God is perfectly faithful, who will DO and BE all that he declares. The exercise of faith in this holy and loving God, according to truth of His word, is the great essential, and fundamental act and attitude, that man must have, in order to know and please Him. The God who sees the invisible, always is looking into our hearts, to see if there is true faith, a whole-hearted trust in His trustworthiness.
Dear Father, we thank Thee that You see into our hearts, as you saw into the hearts of those who brought the lame man to Christ. It is there in the recesses of our hearts that you look for faith, a trust in Thee, that will commit itself to believe Thee according to Your word. Give us grace to truly and intelligently surrender to Your wisdom and love, committing ourselves to You, to believe You for the outworking of Your will and purposes. We praise and thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad