As the crowds of people dispersed from my house, leaving me with a hole in my roof, I was able to quiz Jesus a bit further regarding the miracle that had taken place under my roof, or should I say under the hole in my roof.
What I needed to know was why did he say "Your sins are forgiven you". It seemed to me that he was just being contentious knowing that it would cause some debate. Surely that is a challenge to far. The answer he gave was simple. "I" he said "came to call sinners to repentance, not to make people better, if people get better as a result of having their sins forgiven then so be it".
After Jesus had left the house I sat and thought about all that had happened that day in my house. I came to the conclusion that my life needed to change and that I, like the crippled man needed Jesus to forgive my sin. I did all I knew, I just talked to God as if he were in the room with me. It wasn't until a few years later when I next saw this same Jesus being dragged through a crowd on his way to Calvary that I knew the significance of my prayer.
It was a wonderful moment when I realised my "sin" had been forgiven. That is, that I did not have to continue to live a life that was condemned, as I had thought, because Jesus had come willingly from God to set me free to live a life dedicated to Him and free of quilt. It was not as if my life changed over night but my life took on a different perspective. I now had hope where before there had been despair. It was no longer governed by what I wanted but only what God wanted. Whilst I struggled at times to work out practically what that meant, I determined to continue to pursue this desire within me to follow this man Jesus and what his life meant.
My story ends here in the knowledge that "Jesus came from heaven to earth to show the way, He went from the earth to the cross my debt to pay, then from the cross to the grave and from the grave to the sky" and I say "Lord I lift your name on high". This encounter with this man changed my life forever.
What I pray is that all our lives will encounter this Jesus in such a way that our lives will be different.
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